Miguel Antonio Catalán y Sañudo (1894–1957) was a Spanish

spectroscopist Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectrum, electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagn ...

Biography

Miguel Antonio Catalán y Sañudo was born in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, he obtained his degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

from the

University of Zaragoza The University of Zaragoza, sometimes referred to as Saragossa University () is a public university with teaching campuses and research centres spread over the three provinces of Aragon (Spain). Founded in 1542, it is one of the List of oldest u ...

and received his doctorate in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

in 1917 for his thesis about spectrochemistry. In 1920, he began work as a researcher at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

. Examining the

spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

of the arc of

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

, he determined that the optical spectra of complex atoms consisted of groups of lines –which he called "multipletes"- between which existed certain characteristic regularities. Catalán demonstrated that study of the multipletes led to further understanding of the states of energy of

atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

s. On the invitation of

Arnold Sommerfeld Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld (; 5 December 1868 – 26 April 1951) was a German Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in Atomic physics, atomic and Quantum mechanics, quantum physics, and also educated and ...

, he worked at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, and on the creation by the Rockefeller Foundation of the Institute of Physics and Chemistry (Madrid), in 1930 he was named head of the

Spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Spectro ...

Section. He was invited numerous times to work in the laboratories of the National Bureau of Standards (Washington, D.C.),

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, and

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

. He published more than 70 scientific articles in specialized journals. In 1926, he received a prize from the ''Real Academia de Ciencias'' (

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) and in 1930, the international Pelfort prize. He married

Jimena Menéndez-Pidal Jimena or is the Spanish female version of the given name Jimeno. The French rendering of the name is Chimène. It has come to be viewed as a form of the name Simone, though their origins are distinct. A variant is Ximena. People with the nam ...

, the daughter of

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...

director

Ramón Menéndez Pidal Ramón Menéndez Pidal (; 13 March 1869 – 14 November 1968) was a Spanish philologist and historian."Ramon Menendez Pidal", ''Almanac of Famous People'' (2011) ''Biography in Context'', Gale, Detroit He worked extensively on the history of t ...

and María Goyri. Because of the military coup by General

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

in July 1936, he and his father in law were the subject of numerous misdemeanours. From 1950 onwards, he served as director of the ''Departamento de Espectros del Instituto de Óptica de Madrid'' (C.S.I.C.). In 1952, he served as advisor to the Joint Commission for Spectroscopy, the head body for this field. In 1954, he became a member of the ''Real Academia de Ciencias'' (Madrid). Catalán died in

. The

lunar crater Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated. History The wo ...

Catalán is named after him. Based on certain conjectures of Miguel Catalan about rotational dynamics, his disciple and biographer Gabriel Barceló, years later, developed the

Theory of Dynamic Interactions A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

. The Government of the

Comunidad de Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Central Plateau (); its capital and largest municipality is Madrid. The Community of ...

(Autonomous Region of Madrid) awards the Miguel Catalán Investigation Award in Science since 2005, to honor Catalán's memory. The award recognizes outstanding life accomplishments in research and science. The award winners each receive a medal, a citation and 42,000 Euros. Winners of this award are:

José Elguero Bertolini José Elguero Bertolini (born 1934) is a Spanish chemist best known for his contributions to heterocyclic chemistry. He is Honorary Research Professor at the Medicinal Chemistry Institute of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), an instit ...

(2005, chemist), Antonio Hernando Grande (2006, physicist),

Amable Liñán Martínez Amable is a French given name. Notable people with the name include: * Amable Aristy (1949–2022), Dominican politician and businessman * Amable Audin (1899–1990), French archaeologist * Amable Bapaume (1825–1895), French novelist, journali ...

(2007, aeronautical engineer),

José Luis García Fierro José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

(2008, chemist) and Miguel Francisco Sánchez Madrid (2009, biologist). Since 2008, a Miguel Catalán Investigation Award in Science for researchers under forty years is also given. The awards winners also receive a medal, a citation and 21,000 Euros. 50,000 Euros are also given to their institutions to fund their future work. Winners are: Oscar Fernández Carpetillo (2008, oncologist) and Luis Raúl Sánchez Fernández (2009, physicist).

External links

Biografia de Miguel Antonio Catalán Sañudo

http://www.miguelcatalan.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catalan, Miguel Antonio 1894 births 1957 deaths People from Zaragoza Spanish scientists Academics of Imperial College London Spectroscopists