Universidad Complutense de Madrid
University Comlutense de Madrid
Madrid - Spain
www.ucm.es
Information Sheet- Complutense de Madrid (PDF  29KB)
Area of Study document - Code description (PDF 69KB)
History
The Complutense University was founded in the ancient town of Complutum, nowadays Alcalá de Henares, by Cardinal Cisneros in 1499 following the granting of papal bulls by Pope Alexander VI. Its true history however can be traced back to May 20th 1293, the date on which King Sancho IV of Castille created the Estudio de Escuelas Generales de Alcalá which two centuries later would become Cisneros' Complutense University.
In the Academic year 1509-1510 five faculties were operating: Art and Philosophy, Theology, Canon Law, Letters and Medicine.
In 1836 under the reign of Isabel II, the university was moved to Madrid, to San Bernardo Street, where it took the name of the Central University.
Later, in 1927, the construction of a university complex was planned in the area of Moncloa on land granted for this purpose by Alfonso XIII. This era saw the heart of the so-called Edad de Plata or Silver Age in Spanish culture. Those giving classes at the Complutense during this period included José Ortega y Gasset, Manuel García Morente, Luis Jiménez de Asúa, Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Blas Cabrera.
The civil war converted the university complex into a battle front causing the destruction of faculty buildings and institutions located within its grounds as well as the loss of part of its rich scientific, artistic and bibliographical heritage. Many prestigious members of the teaching staff who had, up until that time been giving classes at the university, were also lost to exile.
In 1970 the government undertook plans for the reform of higher education and the Central University was renamed the Complutense University thus taking back the name of its place of origin. Around the same time the Somosaguas campus was created which was to hold most of the Social Science faculties and hence relieve the Moncloa Campus.
Important Names in the History of the Complutense
A host of famous names have had a place in the history of the Complutense. Some taught within the university walls while others studied there, but all have been eminent in their particular field whether arts, politics or science. Among the most important (the list is necessarily short and therefore cannot do justice to all) are the following:
* Elio Antonio de Nebrija (1444 - 1522)
* Tomás de Villanueva (1488 - 1555)
* Domingo de Soto (1494 - 1570)
* Ambrosio de Morales (1513 - 1591)
* Padre Juan de Mariana (1535 - 1624)
* Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (1562 - 1635)
* Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas (1580 - 1645)
* Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1744 - 1811)
* Fermín Caballero (1800 - 1876)
* Manuel Colmeiro Penido (1818 - 1897)
* José Amador de los Ríos (1818 - 1878)
* Emilio Castelar y Ripoll (1832 - 1899)
* José Echegaray y Eizaguirre (1832 - 1916)
* Nicolás Salmerón y Alonso (1838 - 1908)
* José Rodríguez Carracido (1856 - 1928)
* Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852 - 1934)
* Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869 - 1968)
* Julián Besteiro Fernández (1870 - 1940)
* Florestán Aguilar (1872 - 1934)
* Blas Cabrera y Felipe (1878 - 1945)
* Fernando de los Ríos Urruti (1879 - 1949)
* Enrique Moles Armella (1833 - 1953)
* José Ortega y Gasset (1883 - 1955)
* Américo Castro Quesada (1885 - 1972)
* Gregorio Marañón y Posadillo (1887 - 1960)
* Julio Rey Pastor (1888 - 1962)
* Clara Campoamor (1888 - 1972)
* Juan Negrín López (1892 - 1956)
* Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz y Menduiña (1893 - 1984)
* Miguel Catalán Sañudo (1894 - 1957)
* Victoria Kent Siano (1898 - 1987)
* Dámaso Alonso y Fernández de las Redondas (1898 - 1990)
* Carlos Jiménez Díaz (1898 - 1967)
* Xavier Zubiri Apalategui (1898 - 1983)
* María Zambrano (1904 - 1991)
* Severo Ochoa (1905 - 1993)
* Emilio García Gómez (1905 - 1995)
* José Luis López Aranguren (1909 - 1986)
* Enrique Tierno Galván (1918 - 1986)
Doctors Honoris Causa
Likewise, since the title of Doctor Honoris Causa was first established by Royal Decree in 1920, the Complutense University has been able to give full recognition to the work of those in the diverse fields of universal knowledge and human activity by granting this distinction to, among others:
* Avelino Gutiérrez (Medicine)
* Albert Einstein (Science)
* Gregorio del Amo (Science)
* Henri Le Chatelier (Science)
* Paul Karrer (Pharmacy)
* Alexander Fleming (Science)
* Selamas A. Waksman (Science)
* Arne Tiselius (Science)
* Ludwig Erhard (Political Sciences, Economics and Trade)
* Albert L. M. G. de Vuyst (Veterinary Science)
* Fernand Braudel (Political Science, Economics and Trade)
* Earl J. Hamilton (Political Science, Economics and Trade)
* Ramón Carande y Thovar (Science, Economics and Business Studies)
* Heinrich Schipperges (Medicine)
* Antonio Domínguez Ortiz (Geography and History)
* Ramón Castroviejo Briones (Medicine)
* Sandro Pertini (Law)
* Norberto Bobbio (Law)
* Andrés Segovia Torres (Information Sciences)
* Miguel Delibes Setién (Information Sciences)
* Francisco Ayala (Philology)
* Luis García Berlanga (Information Sciences)
* Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre (Geography and History)
* Nicole Le Douarin (Medicine)
* Humberto Eco (Philology)
* Karl Popper (Science, Economics and Business Studies)
* Ernst Gombrich (Geography and History)
* Rafael Alberti (Philology)
* Vladimir Igorevich Arnold (Mathematics)
* M. E. Patarroyo Murillo (Medicine)
* Ernst Jünger (Philosophy)
* Adolfo Suárez González (Politics and Sociology)
* Carmelo Alonso Bernaola (Geography and History)
* Patricia Elena Aceves Pastrana (Pharmacy)
* Giovanni Sartori (Politics and Sociology)
* Pablo González Casanova (Politics and Sociology)
* James C. I. Dooge (Geology)
* Teresa Berganza (Geography and History)
* Antoni Tàpies (Fine Arts)
* Martin E. P. Seligman (Psychology)
* Guy Hermet (Political Science)
* Muhammad Yunus (Economics)
* Willy R.G. Baeyens (Pharmacy)
* Pedro Villegas-Narváez (Veterinary Science)
* Fred Wudl (Chemistry)
* Marc Fumaroli ((Philology)
* Ivan K. Schuller (Physics)
* Raphael Mechoulam ( Medicine)
* Nigel Gelndinning (Geography and History)
* Claudio Magris (Philology)
* Joan Manuel Serrat (Philology)
* Jean-Pierre Serr (Mathematics)
Historical Heritage
The Complutense University's historical heritage is enshrined in important collections assembled from museums and historic, artistic, scientific or technical collections throughout its long history, and now located in distinct centres.
The various museums and collections comprising the artistic and techno-scientific heritage of the Complutense have emerged at different periods, and many are the fruit of pedagogic activity and investigation. Particularly noteworthy are the collections of techno-scientific instruments and of scientific and ethnographic materials.
Alongside these scientific and technical collections, the university also possesses a rich artistic heritage comprising pictorial and graphic works as well as sculptures by artists and masters such as Juan de Borgoña, Dürer, Vicente López Portaña, Luis de Madrazo, Aureliano de Beruete, Sorolla, Rafael Zabaleta, Antonio Saura, Dimitri Papageorgiou, Mariano Benlliure, Ann Hyatt Huntington and Pablo Serrano. The historic artistic heritage of the Complutense is crowned by the inclusion of an extraordinary collection of sumptuary art made up of, amongst other items, furniture, clocks and gold- and silversmiths' craftsmanship.
During the 2005-2006 academic year, the Exhibition Hall of the UCM Botanical Garden was host to the show "Collection of Collections and other remarkable objects" which displayed a wide array of the artistic and scientific-technological heritage collection of the Complutense Museums.
Museums
The Hispanic Pharmacy Museum
The Astronomy and Geodesic Museum
The Textile Museum
The American Archaeology and Ethnological Museum
The Odontology Museum
The Forensic Anthropology Museum
The Anatomy Museum. Morphological Sciences I
The Children's Art Museum of the Faculty for Fine Arts.
The Education Museum
The Information Technology Museum
Museum of Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates of the Faculty of Biological Sciences
Collections of techno-scientific instruments from various faculties. Of particular interest are those from the faculties of Physical Science, Education, Information Sciences and Veterinary Studies.
Further Collections
The Art Collection
The Palaeontological Fossil Collection of the Geology Faculty
The Entomological Collection of the Biology Faculty
The Pharmacy Faculty Herbarium
The Biology Faculty Herbarium
The Pharmacy Faculty's Vegetal Histology Engravings Collection
The Numismatist Collection
Collection of Mineralogy of the Faculty of Pharmacy
Simarro Collection of the Faculty of Psychology
|
