Augustus Le Plongeon
A pioneering but eccentric Victorian explorer who produced invaluable photographic records of Maya ruins while spinning fantastical theories about their global connections.
1825–1908 (age 83)·British photographer and archaeologist·Birthday: May 4
Biography
Augustus Le Plongeon was a figure of fascinating contradiction, a man whose meticulous photographic work laid groundwork for modern archaeology even as his radical theories placed him firmly on its fringe. A trained photographer and amateur surgeon, he arrived in the Yucatán in the 1870s with his wife Alice, embarking on extensive excavations of sites like Chichén Itzá. His greatest contribution was not his interpretation, but his documentation: he produced hundreds of detailed photographs and plaster casts of Maya sculptures and architecture, preserving a visual record of sites that were still being reclaimed by the jungle. However, Le Plongeon's imagination raced far ahead of evidence. He became convinced the Maya were the ancestors of ancient Egyptians and the source of the lost continent of Mu, arguing that world civilization had diffused from the Americas. These ideas, passionately argued in his writings, were dismissed by mainstream scholars but captivated the public, securing his legacy as a passionate, if profoundly misguided, pioneer in Mesoamerican studies.
#1 When Augustus Was Born
The biggest hits of 1825
Augustus's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1825Born
1830Started school
1838Became a teenager
1841Could drive
1843Could vote
1846Turned 21
1855Turned 30
1865Turned 40
President: Andrew Johnson
1875Turned 50
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1885Turned 60
Karl Benz builds the first gasoline-powered automobile
President: Grover Cleveland
1895Turned 70
First public film screening by the Lumiere brothers
President: Grover Cleveland
1905Turned 80
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Died at 83
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
Key Achievements
- Produced an extensive and early photographic archive of Maya ruins in the Yucatán during the 1870s and 1880s.
- Conducted some of the first excavations at the sacred Maya site of Chichén Itzá.
- Created detailed plaster casts of intricate Maya bas-reliefs and sculptures for study and display.
- Authored several books and papers that, while controversial, stimulated public interest in Maya civilization.
Did You Know?
He and his wife, Alice Dixon Le Plongeon, were a dedicated team; she was a photographer, writer, and co-theorist in all his work.
He believed the famous Chacmool statue he discovered at Chichén Itzá represented a ancient Maya ruler and telegraph operator.
He was a Freemason and often interpreted Maya iconography through a Masonic lens.
His theories directly influenced later fringe writers and the 'ancient astronauts' speculation.
“These stones hold a story the world has forgotten.”
