Antonio Núñez Jiménez was a Cuban geographer, speleologist, archaeologist, scientist and revolutionary. Núñez was born in Alquízar,

Havana Province La Habana Province , formerly known as Ciudad de La Habana Province, is a province of Cuba that includes the territory of the city of Havana, the Republic's capital. Between 1878 and 2010, the name referred to another province that covered a m ...

(current

Artemisa Province Artemisa Province is one of the two new provinces created from the former La Habana Province, whose creation was approved by the Cuban National Assembly on August 1, 2010, the other being Mayabeque Province. The new provinces came into existence ...

) on April 20, 1923. In 1950, he received his first doctorate from the

University of Havana The University of Havana or (UH, ''Universidad de La Habana'') is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba. Founded on January 5, 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the firs ...

, and later received a second doctorate from the Lomonosov Moscow State University of Moscow. Chedaughter

In 1995, the Speleological Society of Cuba and the Cuban Society of Geography awarded him the title of "fourth discoverer of Cuba", placing him at the height of men such as

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

and Fernando Ortiz, for his contribution in the field of underground Cuba. Considered the father of Cuban Speleology. In the 1950s he discovered the largest cave in the country: the Great Cavern of Santo Tomás. He participated in numerous scientific expeditions such as those to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its ne ...

, the Galapagos, and En Canoa del Amazonas al Caribe. First president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences and founding president of the Speleological Federation of Latin America and the Caribbean and of various national and international scientific societies. Internationally known for his scientific work in the field of Geographical Sciences, especially in

Speleology Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form ( speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology) ...

, one of his greatest passions, and in geohistorical issues of the most dissimilar regions of the planet. Creator of the Foundation of Nature and Man. His studies contributed to preparing the theater of operations, where Column 8 "Ciro Redondo" would later arrive in 1958 in the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...

, and there he was appointed Captain of the Rebel Army. He participates in the liberation of

Fomento Fomento is a town and municipality in the Sancti Spíritus Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1864. Geography The municipality is divided into the barrios of Fomento (municipal seat) and the village of Jíquimas. Until 1976 the villages of Jua ...

Cabaiguán Cabaiguán () is a municipality and town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, Cuba. With an urban population of 30,135 is the 3rd largest town of the province. Overview It was founded in 1894, and established as a municipality in 1926. The munic ...

, Placetas, Remedios, Caibarién and Santa Clara, under the command of Ernesto Che Guevara. His literary work is extensive with more than 190 books and pamphlets and 1,665 articles, as well as documentaries, interviews, and others.

Death

Núñez died in Havana on September 13, 1998. His work is highly respected in Cuban government circles.

References

*Núñez Jiménez, Antonio, 1959, ''Geografía de Cuba''. Lex. Havana. *Marrero, Levi, 1981, 5th edition ''"Geografía de Cuba" La Moderna Poesía'', Coral Gables Florida.

External links

Antonio Núñez Jiménez and his expedition to Camagüey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez Jimenez, Antonio Cuban revolutionaries 1923 births 1998 deaths People of the Cuban Revolution University of Havana alumni