Did you get anything special for Mr. Jefferson for his 259th birthday? Luis Fernando Bolivar, a descendent of Simon Bolivar and the great-great-grandson of the University's first Latin American student, donated an impressive collection of historic family papers and artifacts to the University as part of the birthday celebrations Saturday.
The donation includes historic manuscripts, letters, journals, silver tea and dinner services and a rare collection of 14 bound volumes of published documents regarding Simon Bolivar and the South American wars of independence.
"This is quite a magnificent donation," Asst. Dean of Students Pablo Davis said. Christie's auction house appraised the donation before the University accepted it.
"There is a tie with the University, from the time of Jefferson, to the Bolivar family," Spanish Prof. David T. Gies said.
Fernando Bolivar, a young Venezuelan and the nephew and adoptive son of Simon Bolivar, enrolled at the University in 1827. But, because of political and economic difficulties at home, he only studied here for a year.
"We've got an original portrait of [him] in the living room of the Casa Bolivar" which is named for the family, Gies said.
Among the manuscripts donated was Fernando Bolivar's diary from the time he was a student at the University.
"Fernando admired Jefferson so much that he wanted to come to U.Va." against the wishes of his adoptive father, Davis said. "His uncle also admired Jefferson very much" and therefore gave in to his adoptive son's desires.
Simon Bolivar, known to some as "the Liberator," was a Venezuelan general and statesman who led the struggle for South American independence from Spain in the early 1800s.
Luis Fernando Bolivar presented the gift to the University at a luncheon at Alumni Hall on Saturday.
"He actually contacted us" about donating the documents and artifacts, said Gustavo Pellon, a Spanish professor whose research helped uncover the connection between the Bolivar family and the University.
"He felt very strongly that these family treasures should be here" where they can be maintained and enjoyed by many people, Pellon said.
Pellon said he became curious about the link with the University after seeing the University's original portraits of the Bolivar family.
"This was something that was forgotten and I thought, gosh, this is not something that should be forgotten," he said. "This is as much a part of U.Va. tradition and history as Poe."
The Special Collections Library eventually will house the historic manuscripts, which date from the 1820s, Davis said. But the silver tea and dinner services and the volumes of published documents do not yet have a home, he said.
The luncheon was sponsored by the Bolivar Network, an organization of alumni of Latin American origins.
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