José Antonio Villaseñor y Sánchez
José Antonio Villaseñor y Sánchez was an 18th-century geographer, historian, and mathematician in New Spain. He was born in San Luis Potosí, México and studied at San Ildefonso in Mexico City. He became an accountant, and later official cosmographer (geographer) of New Spain. Following royal instructions, Viceroy Pedro Cebrián, 3rd Count of Fuenclara ordered him to prepare an official estimate of the population of New Spain, to be transmitted to the Court. The estimate was completed in April 1744, and the population was found to be 3,865,000.