Francisco António Ciera

Place: Lisbon

Born: 1763

Death: 1814

Biography:

Francisco António Ciera was a Portuguese mathematician, cartographer, and astronomer. He was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1763 and died in 1814. Ciera's father was an Italian mathematician who worked for the Portuguese government on cartographic projects. This exposure to mathematics and cartography likely influenced Francisco António Ciera's career choices. He studied at the Real Academia de la Marina, where he became a professor of mathematics and astronomy. In 1782, at the age of 19, Ciera was appointed as a lente (lecturer) at the academy after his father's death. He went on to become a member of the Real Academia de Ciências de Lisboa in 1785 and began working on a triangulation project for the Kingdom of Portugal in 1788. This project led to the construction of the Picoto da Melriça monument in 1802, which served as the geodesic center of mainland Portugal. Ciera also developed an optical telegraph system, which was used for communication between ships and coastal stations. He was appointed as the director of the Rede da Barra, a network of optical telegraph stations, in 1803. Ciera's work on the triangulation project and his development of the optical telegraph system demonstrate his contributions to the fields of mathematics, cartography, and astronomy.