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Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Spanish scientist (1852-1934) · Spain · Scientists · Died at 82

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He drew the brain's wiring by hand - neuron by neuron, dendrite by dendrite - and those sketches from the 1890s still teach medical students how thought moves through tissue.

ScientistsDoctorMedicineChemistryPhotographyPoliticsBiologySpain

A life in dates

1934Died17 October 19341926Medalla Plus UltraAward1924Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of ParisAward1923Honorary Doctorate from the University of StrasbourgAward1922Echegaray MedalAwardHonorary Doctor of the University of BordeauxAwardHonorary Doctorate from the National Autonomous University of MexicoAward, 19221915Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts orderAward1906Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineAward1904Helmholtz MedalAward1902Grand cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso XIIAward1901Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the CatholicAward1900Dearest Son of Zaragoza provinceAward1899Honorary Doctor of Harvard UniversityAward1897“Any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain ( p. xv).”In their wordsAdvice for a Young Investigator (1897)

“This history of civilization proves beyond doubt just how sterile the repeated attempts of metaphysics to guess at nature' s laws have been.”In their wordsAdvice for a Young Investigator (1897)

“The intellect is presented with phenomena marching in review before the sensory organs.”In their wordsAdvice for a Young Investigator (1897)

“The severe constraints imposed by determinism may appear to limit philosophy in a rather arbitrary way.”In their wordsAdvice for a Young Investigator (1897)

“It is important to note that the most brilliant discoveries have not relied on a formal knowledge of logic.”In their wordsAdvice for a Young Investigator (1897)

“In summary, there are no small problems. Problems that appear small are large problems that are not understood (p. 17).”In their wordsAdvice for a Young Investigator (1897)

1894Croonian Medal and LectureAward1852Born1 May 1852

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Cajal-miCajal-mi1904-11-01-por esos mundos-Hotel Cajal1904-11-01-por esos mundos-Hotel Cajal1925-02-28, El Imparcial, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Pellicer1925-02-28, El Imparcial, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Pellicer1927-01-01, La Esfera, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Padró (cropped)1927-01-01, La Esfera, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Padró (cropped)1927-01-01, La Esfera, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Padró1927-01-01, La Esfera, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Padró1928-02-19, El Sol, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sancha1928-02-19, El Sol, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Sancha2023 Dawn Hunter Self-Portrait2023 Dawn Hunter Self-Portrait50 Pts Cajal front 0150 Pts Cajal front 01

In their own words 7

,
Santiago Ramón y Cajal
,
7 statements, newest first

  1. Any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain ( p. xv).

    1897, Advice for a Young Investigator (1897), Own words

  2. This history of civilization proves beyond doubt just how sterile the repeated attempts of metaphysics to guess at nature' s laws have been.

    1897, Advice for a Young Investigator (1897), Own words

  3. The intellect is presented with phenomena marching in review before the sensory organs.

    1897, Advice for a Young Investigator (1897), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Medalla Plus Ultra1926
Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Paris1924
Honorary Doctorate from the University of Strasbourg1923
Honorary Doctorate from the National Autonomous University of Mexico1922
Echegaray Medal1922
Honorary Doctor of the University of Bordeaux1922
Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order1915
Foreign Member of the Royal Society1909
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine1906
Helmholtz Medal1904
Grand cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso XII1902
Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic1901
Dearest Son of Zaragoza province1900
Honorary Doctor of Harvard University1899
Croonian Medal and Lecture1894
Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cambridge

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About this person

Santiago Ramón y Cajal was born in Spain on 1 May 1852. He trained as a pathologist and histologist, then turned his microscope to the structure of the nervous system at a time when no one understood how brain cells actually connected. Using careful observation and an artist's eye, he mapped the arborization - the tree-like branching - of individual neurons, proving they were distinct units rather than a fused mesh. In 1906 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Camillo Golgi, becoming the first Spaniard to win a scientific Nobel. He died on 17 October 1934, leaving behind hundreds of drawings that remain standard teaching tools in neuroscience more than a century later.

Country
Spain
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1852 to 1934 · aged 82

Scientists from Spain 6

Muhammad al-Idrisi66.9Juan Gonzalez Gomez60.7Santiago Calatrava59.7Abbas ibn Firnas55.1Leonardo Torres Quevedo54.8Andrés Manuel del Río54.7

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