José Mariano Mociño
New Spain botanist (1757-1820)
José Mariano Mociño Suárez Lozano (24 September 1757 – 12 June 1820), or simply José Mariano Mociño, was a naturalist from Mexico.
After having studied philosophy and medicine, he conducted early research on the botany, geology, and anthropology of his country and other parts of North America.
Biography
He was born in Temascaltepec (modern-day Mexico State) in 1757. Being poor, he worked in many different jobs to study in the Seminario Tridentino de México, where he devoted himself especially to physics, mathematics, botany, and chemistry. In 1778 he graduated in philosophy. In 1791 he was called to join the scientific expedition of Martín de Sessé, the Royal Botanical Expedition, which had started in 1787. They traveled across New Spain, reaching the most inhospitable places of the Empire, being especially notable his trips to the Pacific Northwest. Although the pay for his job was minimal, he created one of the most important natural history collections of his times.
Beginning in 1795, by order of Charles IV, he made several journeys to examine the natural products of Mexico. He traveled more than 3,000 leagues and formed a valuable collection, including a considerable herbarium and a great number of sketches, which he took to Spain in 1803.
The public source identifies “José Mariano Mociño” as new Spain botanist (1757-1820). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around José, Mariano and Mociño.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “José Mariano Mociño”, the useful work is to connect “new Spain botanist (1757-1820)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2983655. VIAF identifies the subject as 317275207. The Library of Congress control number is n83020863. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1757, 1820, 1778 and 1791.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “José Mariano Mociño”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow José Mariano Mociño primary sources, José Mariano Mociño archive and José research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “José Mariano Mociño”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “José Mariano Mociño” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.