1. Julius Popper was known as a modern "conquistador" of Tierra del Fuego in southern South America, and was both a controversial and influential figure.
10 Facts About Julius Popper
1. 2.
Julius Popper was born in 1857 to a Jewish family in Bucharest, Principality of Wallachia, son of professor Neftali Julius Popper, a successful antiques merchant, and his wife Peppi.
3.
Julius Popper studied in Paris, gaining credentials as an engineer.
4.
Julius Popper arrived in Argentina in 1885, where he was attracted by the possibility of gold mining in Tierra del Fuego.
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Julius Popper succeeded in unearthing large amounts of gold and his Compania de Lavaderos de Oro del Sud realized enormous capital gains on the Argentine stock exchange.
6.
Julius Popper issued his own coins and stamps to symbolize his power.
7.
Julius Popper vigorously fought against his enemies; he punished gold diggers and thieves according to arbitrary law.
8.
Julius Popper prepared an expedition to enforce the Argentine claim to parts of Antarctica.
9.
Julius Popper claimed the region was of strategic importance and that Argentina needed to take possession of it "as soon as possible".
10.
British diplomat George E Welby took notice of this proposal and contacted Popper to assert that South Georgia, which had been marked as Argentine in his map, was a British possession.