Joaquín de Mendizábal y Tamborrel

Who was Joaquín de Mendizábal y Tamborrel?

Joaquín de Mendizábal y Tamborrel was a Mexican topographical engineer. He completed his elementary studies in his hometown and made the school in State College, where he installed a weather station. In 1874 he moved to Mexico City, where he studied military engineering at the Military College of Chapultepec. On September 24, 1874 he graduated as an engineer surveyor, and later joined the National School of Engineers and in 1883 he obtained the title of geographer-engineer, being the first Mexican to get this title.

Between 1878 and 1883 he worked as a surveyor on the International Commission to demarcate the boundary between Mexico and Guatemala. That year, and until 1885, he was the second astronomer at the National Observatory Tacubaya. From 1887 he was an honorary member of the Society Alzate, and in 1891 he made a trip to Europe to monitor the printing of his work table of logarithms to eight decimal places, written in French. Since November 1891 he was the second chief engineer of the Boundary Commission in Guatemala, and he held this position until 1896. In May 1896, he found several objects of pottery in the archaeological zone of Palenque. His travels to Europe became very frequent, and he represented his country at scientific conferences, which discussed issues on mathematics, geodesy, physics, metrology and geography. In 1913 he traveled to Spain to study photography by airplane and balloon.