Samuel Alejandro Lafone Quevedo | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | July 18, 1920 | (aged 85)
Resting place | La Plata Cemetery |
Nationality | Uruguay-Argentina |
Other names | Samuel Alexander Lafone y Quevedo,[1] Samuel Alexander Lafone Quevedo, Don Samuel[2] |
Occupation(s) | industrialist, humanist, archaeologist, ethnographer, linguist |
Organization | National Academy of History of the Argentine Republic |
Parent(s) | Samuel Fisher Lafone and María Quevedo y Alsina |
Relatives | Alfred Lafone (uncle) |
Samuel Alejandro Lafone Quevedo (Montevideo, 28 February 1835 – La Plata, 18 July 1920) was an Argentine industrialist, humanist, archaeologist, ethnographer, and linguist who was born in Uruguay.[3]
His father was Samuel Fisher Lafone, an Englishman of Huguenot origin, and his mother was Argentinian María de Quevedo y Alsina. He studied in England and graduated with a Master of Arts degree and a BA in humanities. Back in the Americas, he settled in Catamarca, Argentina, and took charge of his father's mining company and later of his own company, which he created after selling the former.[4]
Lafone delved deeply into the study of the region's indigenous history. He discovered the Ruins of Quilmes[5] and authored the book Londres and Catamarca, in which he published the results of his investigations. He also studied the relationships of the Juríes indigenous people (the Lules and Tonocotés or Tonokotés, nicknamed surís or ñandú by the Quechua invaders), researched the family relationships of the local indigenous population, and founded schools for these populations in Catamarca, as well as other schools for orphans and poverty-stricken communities.[4]
In the late 19th century, he returned to Buenos Aires, where he took charge of La Plata Museum and the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the National University of La Plata. He received several awards during his career, including an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). During this period, he also published the results of his research in several scientific journals.[3]