Juan Ignacio Molina

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Juan Ignacio Molina
Born	(1740-06-24)June 24, 1740 Guaraculén, Captaincy General of Chile (now Chile)
Died	September 12, 1829(1829-09-12) (aged 89) Bologna, Papal States (now Italy)
Resting place	Villa Alegre
Nationality	Spanish-Chilean
Other names	"Abate Molina”
Occupation(s)	priest, naturalist, historian, translator, geographer, botanist, ornithologist, scientific, linguist.
Employer	University of Bologna
Board member of	Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna

Fr. Juan Ignacio Molina (Spanish pronunciation: [xwan iɣˈnasjo moˈlina]; (June 24, 1740 – September 12, 1829) was a Chilean-Spanish Jesuit priest, naturalist, historian, translator, geographer, botanist, ornithologist, and linguist. He is usually referred to as Abate Molina (Abbot Molina), and is also sometimes known by the Italian form of his name, Giovanni Ignazio Molina.

He was one of the precursors of the theory of the gradual evolution of species, 44 years before Darwin, who repeatedly quoted him in "The Origin of Species".

The standard author abbreviation Molina is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.^[1]