Antonio de Ulloa | |
|---|---|
 Posthumous portrait by Andrés Cortés (1856) | |
| Born | Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Giralt 12 January 1716 |
| Died | 3 July 1795 (aged 79) |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Alma mater | Real Compañía de Guardias Marinas (Spanish Naval Academy) |
| Spouse | Francisca Ramírez de Laredo |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy, metallurgy, natural history |
| 1st Spanish Governor of Louisiana | |
| In office 1763–1768 | |
| Monarch | Charles III |
| Preceded by | Charles Philippe Aubry as French Colonial Governor |
| Succeeded by | Charles Philippe Aubry (Acting) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Viceroyalty of New Spain Kingdom of Spain |
| Branch/service | Spanish Navy |
| Rank | Vice-admiral |
Antonio de Ulloa (12 January 1716 – 3 July 1795) was a Spanish Navy officer, scientist and colonial administrator. At the age of nineteen, he joined the French Geodesic Mission to South America. The mission took more than eight years to complete its work, during which time Ulloa made many astronomical, natural, and social observations in South America. The reports of Ulloa's findings earned him an international reputation as a leading savant. Those reports include the first published observations of the metal platinum, later identified as a new chemical element. Ulloa was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in 1746, and as a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1751.
Ulloa also served as governor of Huancavelica in the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1758 to 1764, along with serving as superintendent of the quicksilver mines in the region. Following the Seven Years' War, Ulloa was appointed as the first Spanish governor of Louisiana in 1766. His rule was strongly resisted by Louisiana Creole people in New Orleans, who expelled him from the city in the Louisiana Rebellion of 1768. Ulloa continued to serve in the Spanish Navy, achieving the rank of vice-admiral and becoming its chief of operations.