Iradier, manuel

Manuel Iradières-and-Bulfey (July 6, 1854, Vitoria, Alava, Spain - July 19, 1911, Valsain, Segovia, ibid.) - Spanish geographer, traveler and land surveyor, topographer, explorer of Africa, primarily the territory of Spanish Guinea , as well as inventor. By nationality was Basque .

He was the fourth child in the family, had two sisters and a brother who died in early childhood. His mother died when he was four years old, his father, a former merchant, died about the same time, although the details of his death are unknown. Manuel and his sisters were raised by a father’s brother and his wife. Initially he studied philosophy and literature, but under the influence of reading articles, Henry Stanley decided to devote himself to the study of Africa, in which he conducted three expeditions.

In 1868, he, together with his bride and her sister, founded a scientific society called “Asociación La exploradora”, the purpose of which was formally aimed at studying and researching Spanish possessions in Africa. In 1874, this society launched a so-called “preliminary” research expedition to the Gulf of Guinea, which lasted two and a half years. During the 834-day expedition, during which its members traveled 1,876 km along the Rio Muni and reached Lake Utamboni in the deep regions of the country, the coast of Equatorial Guinea in the area of ​​the Bay of Korisco and the islands of Korisco and Elobey was mapped. Based on these topographic maps, a large detailed map of these areas was created, published in 1877, immediately after the expedition was completed, in Sociedad de Africanistas y Colonistas in Madrid. During this expedition, the wife of Iradiera became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Isabel, who, however, died before the end of the journey. He launched his second expedition to Africa immediately after returning in 1877. In 1884, during his third expedition, in which Dr. Ossorio accompanied him, Iradier created detailed maps of the mouth of the Rio Muni. The expedition returned to Spain on November 28, 1884, but Iradier became very sick with fever and undermined his health, so he did not go to Africa anymore.

In addition to topographic maps of the regions he visited, Iradier was engaged in ethnographic research during his travels (in particular, he studied the languages ​​and customs of local tribes) and meteorological and astronomical observations. Thanks to his geographical, biological, ethnographic and linguistic research, he is believed to have actually laid the political foundations of the future Spanish Guinea (now Equatorial Guinea ).

After returning from his third journey and participating in related lectures and exhibitions, Manuel Iradière took up inventing: he created a model of automatic water meter fototaquímetro , a new printing method that reduced press work, and so on. From 1901, he lived in Madrid and in 1911 died in Valsaine (Segovia), where he spent the last days of his life. In 1927, his remains were reburied in Vitoria cemetery; now one of the streets of this city is named after him.