Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg
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. 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 science fiction novel, "Viaje maravilloso del señor Nic-Nac al planeta Marte." In 1879, he wrote "Horacio Kalibang o los autómatas," the first short science fiction story of Latin America.
Bibliography
- Bruno, Paula, Pioneros culturales de la Argentina. Biografías de una época, 1860-1910, Buenos Aires, Siglo XXI Editores, 2011.
- Holmberg E. L. (1881) "Aracnidos". pages 117-168. In: Roca J. A. (ed.), Döring A., Berg C., Holmberg E. L. (1881) Informe oficial de la Co (Patagonia) realizada en los meses de Abril, Mayo y Junio de 1879, bajo. Buenos Aires. 168 pp. + 4 plates. (scan).
- Holmberg E. L. (1909). "Mollusca Geophila Argentina Nova". Apuntes Historia Natural Buenos Aires 1: 19-12.
- Holmberg E. L. (1909). "Mollusca Argentina Varia". Apuntes Historia Natural Buenos Aires 1: 691-92.
- Holmberg E. L. (1912). "Moluscos Argentinos en parte nuevos, coleccionados por Franco Pastore". Physis 1: 20-22.