FERRER, Ventura P., Spanish author, born in Havana, Cuba, 18 March 1772; died there in 1857. He studied in his native City and then went to Spain, where in 1794 he obtained a place among the lifeguards of the king. In 1800 the Madrid government sent him to Mexico on a special commission, and, after fulfilling it, he returned to Spain. In 1805 he was appointed to fill a high office in Cartagena, Colombia, where he founded a society for the propagation of science and literature, and established a printing house and a newspaper. In 1821 he went to Havana, where he was assigned an office in the finance department of the government, and introduced many important reforms. He published "Viaje a la Isla de Cuba," being vol. xx. of " E1 Viajero Universal" (Madrid, 1793);"Historia de los Dictadores de Roma" (Cartagena, 1817); "Balanza General del Comercio," the first work of this class ever printed in Cuba (Havana, 1826); " Arte de Vivir en el Mundo" (1830); and several translations from Latin, French, and italian.