Abstract
José Celestino Mutis y Bosio was a Spanish physician, naturalist, astronomer, priest, theologian and mathematician, and one of the icons of the Enlightment Age both in Spain and the American Continent. As the Viceroy’s personal doctor, he travelled to the territory of New Granada in what is now Colombia. Mutis was the creator and first leader of the Royal Botanic Expedition of New Granada to study South American wildlife, discovering thousands of new species. He also launched several Public Health measures in the Santa Fe area, helping to introduce a vaccination campaign. Mutis was the first person to introduce Newtonian physics in the Spanish America and he established the first Observatory in the New World which is still in use. He was deeply admired and recognized as a prominent scientist by great personalities of his time including Carl von Linée and Alexander von Humboldt.
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