First contributions of Donato García as Mineralogy Professor at the Royal Cabinet of Natural History of Madrid (Spain) in the Nineteenth Century

Donato García was the mineralogy professor at the Royal Cabinet of Natural History and Central University of Madrid from 1816 to 1853. In addition to teaching mineralogy, he gathered geological and mineralogical material for didactic purposes, and for exhibitions in the hall of the Cabinet. He was a key figure in developing the subject matter of mineralogy in Spain during the first half of the nineteenth century. Donato Garcia likewise promoted the careers of very important future teachers at the Military Academy of Engineers, Natural Sciences Museums, and Universities, integrating oral lectures, mineral testing, visual recognition, and the use of crystallographic models. This paper investigates how the crystallographic system proposed by Haüy (in the mid-thirties) was assimilated through unpublished documents of Donato García’s mineralogical lessons from 1824 to 1825, obtained from Spain’s Archivo General de Palacio (Madrid). Hence, this manuscript can be considered the first scientific work reliably attributable to Donato and based on the notes of his pupil José Musso y Valiente, which stands as an early attempt to create a handbook of mineralogy in Spanish. The novel approach to teaching mineralogy is furthermore compared with lessons published by disciple Antonio María Cisneros y Lanuza in 1843.


Introduction
Despite his impact on Spanish mineralogy, the life and activity of Donato García (1779 1 -1855) have gone largely unnoticed. In the first half of the nineteenth century, he taught agriculture and applied botany in the Botanical Garden of Tenerife 2 (Spain), mineralogy and geognosy courses in the Royal Cabinet of Natural History 3 (Real Gabinete de Historia Natural, Madrid; RGHN), and mineralogy and botany at the Central University of Madrid 4 over nearly 40 years. He was an outstanding professor, as evidenced by the number of distinguished students who graduated from his classrooms and who applied his teaching methodology. He oversaw the chair of mineralogy in the RGHN, where his classes took place (Torres González 1945).
Didactic knowledge was improved and updated with his field work in geology, as well as by his role as curator of scientific collections and his commitment to corporations linked to the sciences of his time. This context allowed him to follow new scientific developments in mineralogy at the world level, and communicate with illustrious contemporary experts, especially René Just Haüy (Paris, 1743(Paris, -1822 and Abraham Gottlob Werner (Saxon, 1749-1817. Donato García and his teaching practices influenced future promotions of Spanish mineralogy, including the naturalist Juan Vilanova In the late eighteenth century, the discipline of mineralogy in Spain was developed by Christian Herrgen (1765-1816; Herrgen 1802). His knowledge of chemistry prepared him for the position of collector of minerals at the  Parra and Pelayo 1996). Herrgen based his teaching methods on Widenmann's work (Widenmann 1797). However, during the second and third decade of the nineteenth century, mineralogy in Spain underwent major changes as it progressively assimilated a new field: crystallography. In parallel, Professor Donato kept up with the new European trend and became the main communicator of the theories of Abbé Haüy in Spain.
Mineralogy was taught by Donato in the School of Mineralogy of RGHN through oral and practical lessons, involving crystallographic models 6 (López-Acevedo Cornejo 2006, 2011, mineral testing, 7 and visual recognition. 8 As for crystallography, Donato contributed with diverse means of acquisition to create mineralogical and geological collections for the RGHN and for teaching purposes. He collaborated with other important institutions (e.g. School of Civil Engineering 9 or Special School of Architecture 10 ) until gathering thirty-six collections. Although the lack of Spanish textbooks on mineralogy was an obstacle, his students took notes from the professor. To date, there are no known works by Donato on teaching mineralogy, but a manuscript with Donato's classroom notes, found in the General Archive of Palace (Archivo General de Palacio, Madrid, AGP), 11 contributes to our knowledge of this documentary source and allows us to delve deeper into the teaching practices of Donato. The lessons registered at the AGP have been compared with a later publication, "Lecciones de Mineralogía", published by Cisneros y Lanuza (1843).

Historical Context
Up to the mid-nineteenth century, geology, mineralogy, and mining teaching took place in several Spanish institutions: the Almadén School of Mines (Escuela de Minas de Almadén); the Vergara Seminar (Seminario de Vergara); the Royal Asturian Institute of Nautical and Mineralogy (Real Instituto Asturiano de Naútica y Mineralogía); and the RGHN, later called the Royal Natural Science Museum (Real Museo de Ciencias Naturales or RMCN; González Lodeiro 2016). While Europe experienced great economic and social development, Spain was more focused on mining. The RGHN was established with funds provided by merchant Pedro Franco Dávila (Barreiro 1944), which proved insufficient, and the project came to an end (Montero and Diéguez 1998). Political instability, especially during the Liberal Triennium (Rújula and Frasquet 2020) and the following decade (Antigüedad del Castillo Olivares and Alzaga Ruiz 2011), meant frequent changes of government and a waning interest in science (Calatayud Arinero 2002). Still, Donato maintained contact with the intellectual circle of his time, and they continued to acquire and exhibit minerals for didactic purposes.
Meanwhile, the European centres of reference for mineralogy were in Germany and France, e.g. the Wetterauische German Society for the General Study of Nature (Wetterauische Gesellschaft für die Gesamte Naturkunde: WGSGN) established in 1808 in Hanau (Germany; Wetterauische Gesellschaft 2023). Réné Just Haüy (1745-1822) maintained correspondence with the WGSGN (Touret 1997), and according to his manuscripts, the National Museum of Natural History of Paris (Musée national d'histoire naturelle: MNHNP) collaborated with foreign scientific institutions such as the WGSGN and the Royal Matritense Academy (Real Academia Matritense) to which Donato García belonged. 12 As head of the exhibition in the mineralogical halls of the RGHN in Madrid, Donato was familiar with the collections of the Natural History Trade House in Hanau. The incorporation of specimens for exhibition, teaching and chemical analysis was a regular practice for the professor. Testimony of purchases is detailed in the manuscript from the AGP. The scarce documentary sources related to Donato and the absence of publications by the professor, perhaps due to his excessive modesty (Anonymous 1851: p. 389), have thus far impeded extending our knowledge of his mineralogy teachings. The recent discovery of the AGP manuscript and related research work provides new data.

Professor Donato García
Donato García Negueruela was born in Ábalos (La Rioja, Spain) on December 12, 1779, 13 although his birth was erroneously attributed to a later date. His father, Santiago García Tejerizo (1753-1812) 1924, t. XXV; p. 758). The suspicion of being pro-French conditioned his career. Yet the Museum Protection Board interceded to his aid, recognising his valuable work as professor of mineralogy.
In 1821, Donato was named a member of the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts (Academia de las Nobles Artes de San Fernando) and of the Royal Matritense Academy in the Natural Science section, an institution established in Madrid in 1734 to promote research in Natural History (Sánchez Granjel 2006), and he became a corresponding member in the Medicine Academy of Murcia 16 (Academia de Medicina de Murcia). In addition, Donato García was appointed Numerary Academician of the Royal Academy of Science (Real Academia de Ciencias or RAC, Madrid), one of 18 scientists appointed by royal designation who in turn elected another 18 to conform the first 36 members of this Corporation (Bolado Somolinos 2012). This appointment was made by Royal Order on 4 March 1847, days after launching the institution on 25 February.
Throughout his career, Donato conducted research in mineralogy in Spain (Ordaz 1978) and participated in a commission for collecting geological knowledge about the soil of Madrid and elsewhere in Spain. Furthermore, through his field work, he formed or contributed to numerous collections, and he classified the one sent from America by Malespina (Espasa 1924, t. XXV; p. 758). Some collections were donated to other institutions. He advised archaeologists 17 given his knowledge of mineralogy. In the middle of 1840s and the early 1850s, he taught botany and mineralogy at the Central University of Madrid, until his retirement. The final years of his life were lived in Madrid, on a street named La Corredera Baja de San Pablo; he died there in 1855.
Donato García did not live to witness the creation and distribution of academic medals (around 1856). He was succeeded as Academician by Felipe Naranjo y Garza (1809-1877), who was therefore the first holder of medal 33 (Dupont 1857). For this reason, the number 33 is also conceded to Donato in recognition of his significance (Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de España 2023).

The Mineralogical Notes of José Musso y Valiente (the Musso Manuscript)
Documents in connection with the notes of José Musso y Valiente (The Musso manuscript) and his studies in mineralogy are preserved in the Municipal Archive of Lorca (Archivo Municipal de Lorca, Murcia, Spain, AML). 18 The notes are handwritten and describe sixty-seven lessons, each dated at the beginning of the lesson. Also included are additions made to the mineralogy course of 1824 to 1825, that of 1825 to 1826, and 1827 to 1828, the latest date being April 1828. Corrections, crossings out, and markings are frequent in the documents from lesson 1 (Fig. 1) to 59, in which the content about mineralogy is the same as in the AGP manuscript. Lessons 60 to 67 deal with geognosy, fossils, and meteorites.

Mineralogy Lessons (the AGP Manuscript)
The unpublished document located in AGP 19 (Fig. 2) on display refers to the lessons given in the 1824-1825 academic year under the title "Mineralogy lessons explained by Donato García at the Royal Cabinet of Natural History in Madrid" (Lecciones de mineralogia explicadas por Donato Garcia en el Real Gabinete de Historia Natural de Madrid). The manuscript is unsigned and makes no reference to authorship. The mineralogy lessons explained in the course that began on December 17, 1824, contains 59 lessons. Furthermore, the manuscript has a chapter dedicated to mineral analysis, guidelines for the order of collections, and a synoptic table of permanent gases.
The lessons begin with an introduction to mineralogy, featuring a description of physical, chemical, and empirical characters. This is followed by a description of minerals: the forms and their characterization, properties, and curiosities in general. Firstly, it deals with different classes by anionic groups, and then, Donato establishes four classes in which all minerals are distributed: oxides (free or combined), metallic oxides (earths and alkalis), metals, and fuels. He uses the classifications proposed by Werner (Werner 1787(Werner , 1792 and Haüy (Haüy 1801, 1809, 1822) as priority models.
The guidelines for the order of collections 20 describe the circumstances governing their purchase. Two collections were commissioned: one is dedicated to oryctognosy (mineralogical collection) and consists of eight hundred pieces three inches long and the other to Geognosy (geological collection), comprising one hundred and fifty pieces, four inches long. The dimensions of both collections suggest they were intended as hand specimens for practical classes. The order was placed at the National History Trade House in Hanau, mentioned above. The price of the first was 720 francs and that of the second 96 francs. In addition, guidelines were established for 16 20 Ibid, "Circunstancias que deberan tenerse presentes para el pedido de la colección" the documentation of the collection. The specimens were marked and associated with a catalogue, with the names of the minerals and the corresponding localities, in French or English. Donato specifies in the document "guideline for order of collections" that the catalogue be written in French and Spanish, but not in German (most scientists in those days being familiar with the French language). The collections travelled from the Spanish Embassy in Saxony to the Spanish Embassy in Paris and finally to the Spanish State Secretariat. The method of acquisition of both collections was by purchase.
During this course, the lessons were followed by 18 students, 21 including José Musso y Valiente (Molina Martínez 2004). The lessons were public, and listeners could attend without prior registration (Fabre 2004).

The Lessons of Donato García by Antonio María Cisneros y Lanuza
This publication contains seventy-three lessons. The lessons of Donato García by Cisneros y Lanuza (1843) are based on the mineral classification of Haüy, in view of the external morphology and structure of minerals. This method was also used in the mineral exhibition at the RGHN.
The professor recommends considering the systems published by Werner, Bruner, Haufman, Berzelius, and Beudant (Cisneros y Lanuza 1843;p. 67). Lesson seventy-one describes the four main mineral classifications, considering (1) external characters, (2) chemical composition, (3) external characters as well as chemical composition, and (4) properties and structure of the crystalline form. The following lesson establishes relationships and limitations with regard to mineral classifications. The discovery of isomorphic and polymorphic minerals conditioned the use of classification systems based only on external morphology (Cisneros y Lanuza 1843; Pelayo López and Gozalo Gutiérrez 2012). Haüy rejected the notion of isomorphism, a notion supported by Beudant and Berzelius (Berzelius 1826;Beudant 1826Beudant , 1830. By 1830, the mineral classification by Beudant was based on crystallographic characters and some chemical aspects; 3 years later, Brogniart proposed a distribution table of mixed mineral species from a more chemical standpoint (Pelayo López and Gozalo Gutiérrez 2012). Donato mentioned Mohs in the context of his mineral classification based exclusively on external morphology and Bresdorf for developing a classification based on crystalline forms and atomic composition.

Donato García's Contributions
Based on the discovery of the AGP manuscript, the students corresponding to academic year 1824-1825 have been identified. 22 His student José Musso y Valiente is a figure of reference in the investigation of contributions by Donato to the RGHN during the 1820s and 1830s. The location of the autobiographical diary 23 of José Musso in the Municipal Archive of Calasparra (Murcia, AMC) moreover enabled us to analyse and connect functions of Donato García at the RGHN with his teaching, divulgation, and exhibition roles. In particular, the diary of José Musso y Valiente reflects the years 1829 to 1834 and the years 1836 and 1837. The diary is organised by years, months, and days, having booklets that include a table of contents and a description of each day. José Musso y Valiente also wrote a memorial of his life-a common practice in his time-whose original and a copy thereof are preserved (Molina Martínez 2004; p.57).
On 13 September 1836, José Musso y Valiente describes a meeting with his teacher (Donato García) in Madrid (Spain). In his diary, he reveals that Donato had organised the RGHN mineralogical exhibition according to system of Haüy because it was established throughout Europe and proved superior to the first edition by Abbé (Haüy 1801, 1822), highlighting crystallography as a separate branch of the science. The reception and assimilation of new concepts in the understanding of European mineralogy and crystallography produce a radical change in his teachings.
In turn, the AGP and the Musso manuscripts have been compared, in light of the posterior publication of Cisneros y Lanuza (1843). Whereas the Musso manuscript contains the complete course of mineralogy lessons (c. 1825), the AGP manuscript is incomplete. Both have been cross-checked and coincide from lessons 1 to 59. However, the Musso manuscript has numerous crossed-out and corrected notes, and the AGP document is a clean copy.
Although the AGP manuscript does not record authorship anywhere in the document, research suggests that the lecture notes of Donato García referred to by Molina Martínez (2004;p.466)  Even though the Musso manuscript only holds additions to the lessons up to April 1828, we suggest the possibility that several courses were devoted to improving the lessons preserved in the AGP.
In addition, a handwriting study was performed. Graphological analysis of the AGP manuscript 24 does not rule out the participation of a single person (a frequent circumstance due to the use of amanuensis), but the writing appears more ornamental in the first lessons and is simplified as the lessons progress (Ladrón de Guevara Guerrero, pers. comm., November 2021). In parallel, the Donato lessons from academic year 1825 (the AGP and Musso manuscripts) were analysed, with organisation and classification of the minerals that the professor describes. While his predecessor, Christian Herrgen-a disciple of the school of Abraham Gottlob Werner-based his lessons on the treatise by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Widenmann (1764Widenmann ( -1798Widenmann 1797), it is clear from the manuscript of the lessons that Donato envisaged a classification halfway between those of Werner and the French school.
Two decades later, a printed text on public lessons of Donato García (Cisneros y Lanuza 1843) was published to make up for the lack of a proper mineralogy handbook. Notwithstanding the existence of the manuscript describing course 1825, Cisneros y Lanuza (1843) asserts that there were no further complete notes by other disciples of Donato García. Hence, he was not aware of the record of these mineralogy lessons from the AGP manuscript.
When comparing the AGP manuscript and the lessons of Cisneros y Lanuza (1843), an evolution in the discipline of mineralogy of Donato is evident. Whereas the lessons from AGP use a chemical classification based on anionic groups, as proposed by Werner and Haüy, in the publication of Cisneros y Lanuza (1843), Donato classified the minerals following the system of Haüy. He also notes that the mineralogical cabinets of Madrid and Paris were arranged according to Haüy's crystallographic system (Cisneros y Lanuza 1843; p. 67). The interest in suggesting bibliographical sources in relation to different proposals for mineral classifications responds to the fact that Donato was aware of the complexity of classification systems. Despite Haüy's rejection of the notion of isomorphism, his mineral classification dominated in Europe during the second decade of the nineteenth century.
Comparing the lessons of courses 1825 and 1843 (Cisneros y Lanuza 1843) in view of the autobiographical diary preserved in the AMC, the process of assimilation of the European trend imposed by crystallographic system of Haüy is manifested in the third decade of the nineteenth century. Until now it was believed that in mineralogy, the classification system of Werner prevailed in Spain until 1845, explaining in greater detail and therefore preferable for beginners (Gomis Blanco 1988). These findings shed new light on the inception of Crystallography in Spain, however.
Some of the most significant changes are related to the teaching and organisation of the RGHN halls by Donato. The halls are partially described by José Musso y Valiente 25 and led to the acquisition of new collections. The mineral collection of the RMCN was enriched by donations, exchanges, or purchases (Calatayud Arinero 2002). Most acquisitions came from Europe and attest to the evolution that mineralogy was undergoing: the intellectual network of the time was fluid and facilitated the consolidation of collections under sound criteria. Moreover, the collaboration of scientific societies (e.g. Royal Matritense Academy or WGSGN with the Natural History Museum of Paris 26 ) could have contributed to Donato Garcia's knowledge of scientific novelties and the approach by Haüy and regarding the mineral trade. In the guidelines for the order of collections 27 at the Natural History Trade House in Hanau, a specimen (Apophyllite) and an ancient label were found at the National Museum of Natural Science (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales: MNCN, Madrid, Spain). These collections would be managed for education and exhibitions.

Conclusions
Professor Donato García took in new discoveries in the field of mineralogy and was responsible for disseminating the crystallographic system put forth by Haüy, in the 1830s, both in the context of teaching and in exhibition at the RGHN. During his long career, he firmly established the Haüy system as a reference in his lessons and exhibitions, although he was no stranger to accepting other mineral classifications. His teaching practices contributed to the development of Spanish mineralogy and encouraged the interest of many pupils with professional projection. This outstanding professor promoted the acquisition of collections for his practical classes and for the RGHN. The material preserved at the MNCN evidences the acquisition of specimens from Hanau (Germany) and 24  sheds light on the pedagogical and museum methods used by this naturalist over his long career. The localization and study of two unpublished documents related with Donato García's mineralogy lessons (c. 1825) from the Municipal Archive of Lorca (the Musso manuscript) and the General Archive of Palace (the AGP manuscript) provide new information about his role in the Royal Cabinet of Natural History. The notes of José Musso y Valiente and the memorial of his life come to reinforce the idea that the AGP manuscript would be the first authentic record of Donato García to date and one of the first attempts to create a handbook of mineralogy in Spanish.