Juan Baigorri Velar

Juan Pedro Baigorri Velar (1891 in Concepción del Uruguay – 24 March 1972 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine engineer; known for his claims that he had invented a rain-making machine.

Career His father was a military officer. Raised in Buenos Aires, he studied at the Colegio Nacional. Later, he travelled to Italy, where he attended the University of Milan and received a degree in engineering, with a specialty in geophysics. He worked for several fuel companies, which involved trips to numerous countries, investigating soil composition and exploring for oil. During the course of these trips he made his own instruments, for detecting minerals and electromagnetism.

In 1929, he was invited by Enrique Mosconi to join the newly created YPF, a state-owned Argentine energy company. He had been working primarily from the United States but, at that time, he returned to Argentina and settled there permanently.

The Rain-Making Machine According to the newspaper , its invention came about accidentally, when he was in Bolivia using his mineral detecting device. When it was connected, a light rain suddenly began to fall. He apparently concluded that was due to the "electromagnetic congestion" it produced.

He died in poverty and was buried at La Chacarita Cemetery. His house in the Villa Luro district has not been preserved, and the fate of his device is unknown.