Pedro Mata y Fontanet

Pedro Mata y Fontanet (1811-1877) was a Spanish medical doctor referenced by the author Jorge Luis Borges in his work "The Analytical Language of John Wilkins". Mata is cited as having written a book entitled Curso de lengua universal or The Study of Universal Language, which was purportedly written in Buenos Aires in 1886.^[1] Borges' piece on John Wilkins focused on an attempt at creating a universal language.

Doctor Pedro Mata y Fontanet.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mata and the second or maternal family name is Fontanet.

The calle del Doctor Mata, a street in Madrid, is named in honor of Pedro Mata y Fontanet.

Dr. Mata is also referenced, humorously (his family name means "[he] kills"), in Ángel Ganivet's novel Los trabajos del infatigable creador Pío Cid.

References

1. Borges, Jorge Luis. Obras Completas, 1952-1972. Otras Inquisiciones. El idioma analítico de John Wilkins. Emecé Editores, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1996, p. 86.