In letter 4201, a ‘Franco’ writes to Hans Sloane. Although no more information is given, through a little research is it presumed that this Franco is one Pedro Franco Dávila (1711 – 1786) a member of the Royal Society from 1776. As this letter was written in 1734, when Pedro Franco was 23, the exact relationship between the two is unknown but could possibly be one of patronage.
Pedro Franco Dávila was a Ecuadorian naturalist, and the founder and director of the “Royal Cabinet of Natural History of Madrid”. Throughout his life he was not only a member of the Royal Society of London, but the Royal Academy of History of Madrid, and the Berlin Academy.
Travelling extensively in Europe, living in both Madrid and Paris, he started a collection of naturalist pieces. These included botanical, zoological and geological specimens, alongside ancient bronzes, precious stones, rare European prints, maps of four parts of the world, and hydrographic and topographical charts.
These 2’000 some pieces eventually became the foundations of the “Royal Cabinet of Natural History of Madrid” in 1776.
Reference:
Pedro Franco Dávila to Hans Sloane, 1734-08-16, Sloane MS 4053, f. 255, British Library, London.
Pedro Franco Dávila, Wikipedia, [https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Franco_Dávila, accessed 17/08/17]
Pedro Franco Dávila, Fellows Details, The Royal Society, [https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=1&dsqSearch=%28%28text%29%3D%27Franco%27%29, accessed 17/08/17]
Dates: to
Occupation: Unknown
Relationship to Sloane: Virtual International Authority File: