Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg

rdf:langString Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg

rdf:langString Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg (27 July 1852, in Buenos Aires – 4 November 1937) was an Argentine natural historian and novelist, one of the leading figures in Argentine biology. Together with Florentino Ameghino he undertook the inventory of Argentine flora and fauna, and explored all the ecoregions in the country, summarizing for the first time the biodiversity of its territory. The son of botanical aficionado and grandson of the Baron Holmberg, Holmburg accompanied Argentine Libertador Manuel Belgrano on his campaigns and introduced the cultivation of the camellia to Argentina. As director of the Buenos Aires Zoological Garden he greatly developed its scientific aspect, publishing booklets and providing printed media for a learned appreciation of its contents. He also directed the Natural History Cabinet of the University of Buenos Aires and published the standard reference works on botany and zoology used in his country for most of the 20th century. While less distinguished for his writing, he was arguably the first science fiction writer in Latin America. He wrote the first Latin American science fiction novel, Viaje maravilloso del señor Nic-Nac al planeta Marte (Eng. The Marvellous Journey of Mr. Nic-Nac to the Planet Mars). In 1879, he wrote Horacio Kalibang o los autómatas (Eng. Horacio Kalibang or The Automatons), the first short science fiction story of Latin America.