Fr. Juan Ignacio Molina (Spanish pronunciation: [xwan iɣˈnasjo moˈlina]; (June 24, 1740 – September 12, 1829) was a Spanish Jesuit priest, naturalist, historian, translator, geographer, botanist, ornithologist, and linguist. He is usually referred to as Abate Molina (a form of Abbot Molina), and is also sometimes known by the Italian form of his name, Giovanni Ignazio Molina. He was one of the precursors of the theory of the gradual evolution of species, 44 years before Darwin, who repeatedly quoted him in "The Origin of Species".