Antonio Peñafiel Berruecos (1839–1922) was a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

medical doctor, scientist and scholar who participated in founding the

National Institute of Statistics and Geography The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI from its former name in ) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Statistical and Geographical Information of the country. It w ...

, and in studying Mexico's

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

history and in documenting

Native American languages The Indigenous languages of the Americas are the languages that were used by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas Pre-Columbian era, before the arrival of non-Indigenous peoples. Over a thousand of these languages are still used today, while m ...

. Born in Atotonilco el Grande in

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico :''Most, if not all, named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)'' * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coah ...

, he entered medical school. From 1873 to 1875 he was a member of national congress representing the state of

. From 1882 to 1910 he was director of the '' Dirección General de Estadísticas'' (DGE), the Mexican bureau of statistics. In 1895 he directed the first Mexican national census. He was also a founding member of the Mexican Society for Natural History. He published many of the ethnohistorical sources about Mexico's indigenous cultures, and also published his own studies of Mexican placenames. He also published an analysis of the potable water of the Basin of Mexico including chemical analyses. He was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1886.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peñafiel, Antonio 1839 births 1922 deaths Mexican Mesoamericanists 19th-century Mesoamericanists Mexican scientists Members of the American Philosophical Society