Biography
Molina was born at Guaraculén a big farm located near Villa Alegre, in the current province of Linares, in the Maule Region of Chile. His parents were Agustín Molina and Francisca González Bruna.
He was educated at Talca and the Jesuit College at Concepción. He was forced to leave Chile in 1768 when the Jesuits were expelled. He settled in Bologna and became professor of natural sciences there. He wrote Saggio sulla Storia Naturale del Chili (1782), which was the first account of the natural history of that country, and described many species to science for the first time.
Read more about this topic: Juan Ignacio Molina
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