This is a list of inventors and discoverers who are of Spanish origin or otherwise reside in continental Spain or one of the country's oversees territories.

A

* José de Acosta (1540–1600), one of the first naturalists and anthropologists of the Americas. *Andrés Alcázar (1490-1585), neurosurgeon and anatomist, designed new tools for surgical treatments. * José María Algué (1856–1930), meteorologist, inventor of the barocyclometer, the nephoscope, and the microseismograph. * José Antonio de Artigas Sanz (b. 1887), created luminescence with noble gases. * Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont (1553–1613), registered a design for a steam-powered water pump for use in mines. * José Luis Ayuso Fernández (1897-1992), inventor, engineer, mechanic, electrician and cinematographic projectionist. He was a pioneer in sound film industry, inventing one of the first systems to synchronize sound and video in films.

B

* Ignacio Barraquer (1884–1965), leading

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

, pioneer of cataract surgery.whonamedit.com
/ref> * José Ignacio Barraquer (1916–1998), leading

, father of modern

refractive surgery Refractive eye surgery is optional eye surgery used to improve the refractive state of the eye and decrease or eliminate dependency on glasses or contact lenses. This can include various methods of surgical remodeling of the cornea (keratomileu ...

, he invented the microkeratome and the

cryolathe A cryolathe is a device used for freezing and grinding human corneal tissue into different refractive powers. See also *Epikeratophakia *Keratomileusis *Refractive surgery References External links

* Medical equipment {{medical-equipment- ...

, developed the surgical procedures of keratomileusis and keratophakia. * Juan Pablo de Bonet (1573-1633), pioneer of education for the deaf, he published ''Reducción de las letras y arte para enseñar a hablar a los mudos'' ("Summary of the letters and the art of teaching speech to the mute") in 1620 in Madrid, the first modern treatise of sign language phonetics, setting out a method of oral education for deaf people and the first recognizable sign language alphabet.

C

* Ángel Cabrera (1879–1960), naturalist, investigated the South-American fauna. * Nicolás Cabrera (1913–1989), physicist, did important work on the theories of

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

growth and the

oxidisation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

metals A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

. * Celedonio Calatayud (1880-1931) pioneered the use of

radiology Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiat ...

and electrology in Europe for both diagnostics and therapeutical purposes, introducing

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

in Spain in 1906. * Manuel Cardona Castro (1934-2014), physicist, researched

superconductivity Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in certain materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic flux fields are expelled from the material. Any material exhibiting these properties is a superconductor. Unlike ...

and the interaction of

electromagnetic radiation In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) consists of waves of the electromagnetic field, electromagnetic (EM) field, which propagate through space and carry momentum and electromagnetic radiant energy. It includes radio waves, microwaves, inf ...

with a semiconductor material. * Julio Cervera Baviera (1854-1927), engineer, pioneer in the development of

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

, educator, explorer, and military man. He established the second and third regular radiotelegraph service in the history of the world in 1901 and 1902 by maintaining regular transmissions between

Tarifa Tarifa (, Arabic: طريفة) is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa ...

and

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

for three consecutive months, and between Javea and

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

. Some consider him the actual inventor of the radio. * Juan de la Cierva (1895–1936), aeronautical engineer, pioneer of rotary flight, inventor of the autogyro. *

Juan de la Cierva y Hoces ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

(1929-2020) Inventor of the optical stabilizer and a founder of the company Dynalens. * Juan Ignacio Cirac Sasturain (born 1965), one of the pioneers of the field of quantum computing and quantum information theory. * Josep Comas i Solà (1868–1937), astronomer, discovered the periodic

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...

32P/Comas Solá and 11

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

s, and in 1907 observed limb darkening of

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

's moon

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

(the first evidence that the body had an atmosphere). * Avelino Corma Canós (born 1951), chemist, distinguished for his world-leading work on heterogeneous catalysis, developed catalysts that are being used commercially in several industrial processes.

D

*Francisco Díaz de Alcalá (1527-1590), urologist and doctor, wrote the first treatises on diseases of the bladder, kidneys, and urethra; he is generally regarded as the founder of modern urology.

E

* Fausto de Elhúyar (1755–1833), chemist, joint discoverer of

tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...

with his brother Juan José de Elhúyar in 1783.

F

*Carlos Fernández Casado (1905–1988), civil engineer, designer and builder of bridges and

viaducts A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide va ...

. *Jaime Ferrán (1852–1929), doctor and researcher, creator of several vaccines against diseases including cholera and tuberculosis.

G

* Manuel García (1805-1906) singer, music educator, and vocal pedagogue, inventor of the first

laryngoscope Laryngoscopy () is endoscopy of the larynx, a part of the throat. It is a medical procedure that is used to obtain a view, for example, of the vocal folds and the glottis. Laryngoscopy may be performed to facilitate tracheal intubation during ge ...

. * Antoni de Gimbernat, (1734–1816), surgeon and anatomist, described in detail the anatomy of the inguinal and femoral regions of the human body and laid the groundwork for modern techniques of inguinal hernia repair. The lacunar ligament is named after him. * Alejandro Goicoechea Omar (1895-1984), engineer, worked for and co-founded

Talgo Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Corporate history TALGO, an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (English: ''Lightweight articulated tra ...

company, where he developed the Talgo trains famous

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

. * Fernando Gallego Herrera, (1901-1973), civil engineer and aviator, noted for improved bridge design, an improved method for undersea tunnel construction, plans for the use of compressed air for vertical take off of aircraft in the 1930s, and the modernization of the Panama Canal.

H

* Francisco Hernández (1514–1587), botanist, carried out important research about the Mexican flora. * Juan de Herrera (1530-1597), architect, mathematician and geometer, designed the construction plans of El Escorial and the

Cathedral of Valladolid The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Assumption ( es, Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción), better known as Valladolid Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church in Valladolid, Spain. The main layout was designed by Juan de Herrera in a Renai ...

among others and created a compass to measure length and width and a machine to cut iron. *Bartolomé Hidalgo Agüero (1530-1597), doctor, developed, described and evaluated a revolutionary healing method for stab wounds * Juan Huarte de San Juan (1529–1588), physician and psychologist, his ''Examen de ingenios para las ciencias'' was the first attempt to show the connexion between psychology and physiology.

J

* Carlos Jiménez Díaz (1898–1967), doctor and researcher, leading figure in

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

L

* Rodrigo López de Segura (1540-1580), humanist and chess player, wrote one of the first definitive books about modern chess in Europe: ''

Libro de la invencion liberal y arte del juego del axedrez ''Libro de la invencion liberal y arte del juego del axedrez'' (translation: "Book of the liberal invention and art of the game of chess") is one of the first books published about modern chess in Europe, after Pedro Damiano's 1512 book. It was ...

''. * Emilio Herrera Linares (1879-1967), military engineer and physicist, designed a pressurized space suit for stratospheric flights (''escafandra estratonáutica''), precedent of the modern space suits. * José Luis López Gómez (1941-) is an engineer and inventor, with several patents relating to high speed trains.

M

* Gregorio Marañón (1887–1960), doctor and researcher, leading figure in endocrinology. * Narcís Monturiol (1818–1885), physicist and inventor, pioneer of underwater navigation and the first successful machine powered

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

. * José Celestino Bruno Mutis (1732–1808), botanist, doctor, philosopher and mathematician, carried out relevant research about the American flora, founded one of the first astronomic observatories in America (1762). * Aureliano Maestre de San Juan (1828-1890), scientist, histologist, physician and anatomist credited as being one of the first scientists to recognize the disorder known as Kallmann syndrome.

O

* Severo Ochoa (1905–1993), doctor and biochemist, achieved the synthesis of

ribonucleic acid Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) are nucleic acids. Along with lipids, proteins, and carbohydra ...

(RNA),

Nobel prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

Laureate (1959). *Federico Olóriz Aguilera, (1855-1912), doctor, created the primary fingerprint classification system used in Portugal and Spain prior to the use of computer filing systems. * Mateu Orfila (1787–1853), doctor and chemist, father of modern

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...

, leading figure in forensic toxicology. * Joan Oró (1923–2004), biochemist, carried out important research about the origin of life, he worked with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

on the Viking missions. Michael Mark Woolfson,
Time, Space, Stars & Man: The Story of the Big Bang
'. World Scientific; 2013. . p. 383.

P

*Julio Palacios Martínez (1891–1970), physicist and mathematician. * Isaac Peral (1851–1895), engineer and sailor, designer of the first fully operative military submarine, with electric propulsion making full propulsion feasible. *Juan Tomás Porcell (1528-1580), doctor and anatomist, carried decisive research on the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

and wrote influential treaties of epidemiology.

R

* Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934), father of

Neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...

Laureate (1906). * Julio Rey Pastor (1888–1962), mathematician, focusing on geometry. * Wifredo Ricart (1897–1974), engineer, designer and executive manager in the automotive industry. * Andrés Manuel del Río (1764–1849),

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

, discovered

vanadium Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...

(as

vanadinite Vanadinite is a mineral belonging to the apatite group of phosphates, with the chemical formula Pb5( V O4)3 Cl. It is one of the main industrial ores of the metal vanadium and a minor source of lead. A dense, brittle mineral, it is usually fou ...

) in 1801. * Pío del Río Hortega (1882–1945), neuroscientist, discoverer of the

microglia Microglia are a type of neuroglia (glial cell) located throughout the brain and spinal cord. Microglia account for about 7% of cells found within the brain. As the resident macrophage cells, they act as the first and main form of active immune de ...

or ''Hortega cell''. * Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente (1928–1980), naturalist, leading figure in ornithology, ethology, ecology and science divulgation. * Ángela Ruiz Robles (1895-1975) teacher, writer and inventor, inventor of a mechanical precursor to the electronic book.

S

* Margarita Salas (born 1938), biochemist and molecular geneticist, who discovered the order in which messenger RNA is read, as well S Φ29 phage DNA polymerase, of major use in DNA amplification. * Mónico Sánchez Moreno (1880-1961), electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist; early developer of high frequency electrical conduction equipment,

mobile telephony Mobile telephony is the provision of telephone services to phones which may move around freely rather than stay fixed in one location. Telephony is supposed to specifically point to a voice-only service or connection, though sometimes the li ...

electrotherapy Electrotherapy is the use of electrical energy as a medical treatment. In medicine, the term ''electrotherapy'' can apply to a variety of treatments, including the use of electrical devices such as deep brain stimulators for neurological dise ...

and inventor of the first portable

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

machine in 1909. * Miguel Servet (1511–1553), known in English by his Latin name of Michael Servetus, scientist, surgeon and humanist; first European to describe pulmonary circulation. * Luis Simarro Lacabra (1851–1921), psychiatrist; developed a

silver bromide Silver bromide (AgBr) is a soft, pale-yellow, water-insoluble salt well known (along with other silver halides) for its unusual sensitivity to light. This property has allowed silver halides to become the basis of modern photographic materials. A ...

modification of Camillo Golgi's

silver chromate Silver chromate is an inorganic compound with formula Ag2CrO4 which appears as distinctively coloured brown-red crystals. The compound is insoluble and its precipitation is indicative of the reaction between soluble chromate and silver precursor sa ...

technique.

T

* Esteban Terradas i Illa (1883–1950), mathematician, physicist and engineer. * Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1852–1936), engineer and computer scientist, pioneer of automated calculation machines, inventor of the automatic chess, pioneer of

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

, designer of the funicular over the

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

. * Eduardo Torroja (1899–1961), civil engineer, structural architect, world-famous specialist in concrete structures. * Juanelo Turriano (1500-1585) Italo-Spanish clockmaker,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, he built the ''

Artificio de Juanelo The ("Gianello's artifice") was the name of two devices built in Toledo in the 16th century by Juanelo Turriano. They were designed to supply the city with a source of readily available water by lifting it from the Tagus () river to the Alcázar. ...

'', an engine that, driven by the river itself, lifted water from the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...

to a height of almost 100 meters. * Josep Trueta (1897–1977), doctor, his new method for treatment of open wounds and fractures helped save a great number of lives during World War II.

U

* Antonio de Ulloa (1716–1795), scientist, soldier and author; joint discoverer of element

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

with

Jorge Juan y Santacilia Jorge Juan y Santacilia (Novelda, Alicante, 5 January 1713 – Madrid, 21 June 1773) was a Spanish mathematician, scientist, naval officer, and mariner. He determined that the Earth is not perfectly spherical but is oblate, i.e. flattened at the ...

(1713–1773).

V

* Francisco Vallés (1524-1592), physician, regarded as the founder of modern

anatomical pathology Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination ...

. * Arnold of Villanova (c. 1235–1311), alchemist and physician, he discovered that burning wood gives off a poisonous gas (later found to be

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

) and purified

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

.D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 5.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanish inventors and discoverers Spanish engineers History of Spain by topic Lists of inventors inventors and discoverers inventors and discoverers