Agustín de Betancourt

Agustín de Betancourt y Molina (Августин Августинович де Бетанкур; Augustin Bétancourt; 1 February 1758 – 24 July 1824) was a prominent Spanish engineer, who worked in Spain, France and Russia. His work ranged from steam engines and balloons to structural engineering and urban planning. As an educator, Betancourt founded and managed the Spanish Corps of Civil Engineers and the Saint Petersburg Institute of Communications Engineers. As an urban planner and construction manager, Betancourt supervised planning and construction in Saint Petersburg, Kronstadt, Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian cities. De Betancourt was born in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain. The Tenerife Betancourt family can trace their roots to Jean de Béthencourt, who launched colonization of the Canary Islands in 1402 and became a self-proclaimed King of Tenerife in 1417 under the overlordship of the King of Castile. Augustín's father, also Augustín de Betancourt y Castro, was a well-educated businessman with interests in textile machinery. His sister, Maria del Carmen Betancourt y Molina, was the first known woman in Tenerife to publish a scientific article (also related to textile dyes). In 1778, Augustin moved to Madrid to study engineering at the San Isidro Royal College, and never returned to Tenerife again. His first jobs, after graduation in 1783, were related to the Aragon Canal and mining in Almadén. In 1784, he travelled to Paris to study hydraulics and mechanics at the School of Bridges and Roads. In France, Betancourt published treatises on engineering (e.g. on coal mining), but his real assignment was to scout new technologies for the benefit of Spain and to acquire modern machinery for the future Cabinet of Machinery in Madrid, envisioned by Chief minister Floridablanca. In 1788, he travelled to England, visiting James Watt and Matthew Boulton, pioneers in steam engines. Watt was reluctant to reveal the secrets of his trade, but Betancourt inspected Watt's engines working in London mills.