October 20 will mark the 200th anniversary of the death of the naturalist Félix de Azara, considered a precursor of ecological thought and whose writings may have inspired Charles Darwin.

On the occasion of this anniversary, the School of Philosophy and Letters, in partnership with the Science Museum, has organized the "workshop of national defense and defense of nature: Félix de Azara and his bequest (1821-2021)". Sponsored by the administrative office General of Defense Policy, it will take place next Wednesday, September 29, at 12h., at the classroom ICS.

The meeting will begin with a roundtable with the participation of Javier de Navascués, professor at department of Philology and organizer of the workshop; Arturo Ariño, professor at department of Environmental Biology and the Science Museum; Javier Azanza, professor at department of History, Art History and Geography; and Pablo Martínez Gramuglia, at department of Philology. At 5 p.m., Salvador Sánchez Tapia, professor of Global Affairs, will give the discussion paper "Militia and science in the 20th century: Guillermo Velarde and the atomic bomb".

The complete program is available at following link.

Born in Barbuñales (Huesca) into a noble family, Félix de Azara trained as a military engineer and worked in the service of Charles III. During a period spent in America, he took numerous notes of everything he saw, especially of the native fauna. He also collected specimens of animals and discovered more than 200 species completely unknown until then in the "Old World". Those who have studied his work point out that Charles Darwin may have been inspired by his writings during his trip through South America.