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Science and Enlightenment in the Viceroyalty of Peru: The Chief Cosmographer of the Kingdom Cosme Bueno y Alegre

Air date: Thursday, November 6, 2025, 2:00:00 PM
Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local
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Description: From 1757 to 1798, in the Viceroyalty of Peru, Spanish physician and polymath Cosme Bueno y Alegre held the most prestigious scientific position of the time: Chief Cosmographer of the Kingdom. Bueno was responsible for issuing The Knowledge of the Times, an almanac containing information on celestial and climatic phenomena, weather forecasts, and moon phases. These annual publications also featured his “Geographical Descriptions” of the vast Peruvian Viceroyalty, along with historical catalogues and essays on various topics, such as the “Dissertation on the Cravings of Pregnant Women,” which can be found at the NIH. This talk analyzes the interdisciplinary nature of The Knowledge of the Times and Cosme Bueno’s unique contributions to medicine, meteorology, and geography. It also examines how Bueno embodied the epitome of an Enlightenment man, by actively practicing medicine, holding the chair of mathematics at the University of San Marcos, and welcoming and guiding the joint Spanish Botanical Expedition of Hipólito Ruiz and José Antonio Pavón (1777-1788) and the Scientific Expedition of Alejandro Malaspina (1789-1794).
Author: Martina Thorne, PhD – Georgetown University
Runtime: 1 hour