Spanish Inventors - Database

1. SPANISH INVENTIONS AND
INVENTORS
I.E.S. ELVIÑA
2010 - 2011

2. In 1887, Isaac Peral, both the
lieutenant of the Armada and an
engineer, designed and
constructed the first submarine
in history (however, dark
interests within the Spanish
Armada made it so the high
classes dismissed the invention,
saying it was a fraud and that a
vehicle like that would never be
worth anything.) This version
already had all the basic
functionalities that can be seen in
a modern military submarine
(electric motors, navigation
system, torpedoes capable of
hitting a ship on the surface,
periscope, etc…), and at that time
was a scientific and military
advancement without
comparison. Peral, scorned and
humiliated, sick with cancer that
was complicated by meningitis,
died at the age of 44 and was
never recognized in his lifetime
for his invention.
THE SUBMARINE

3. Ignacio Urresti invented the pencil sharpener in 1945, adding to the other
great Spanish contributions to the world of office materials after the Casco
stapler. It was inspired by a coffee grinder and was immediately popular. It
was also considered to be a great example of design.
THE PENCIL
SHARPENER

4. The visionary entrepreneur Enric Bernat had an idea and defended it to the
max: a candy with a stick to suck on. Today, the brand Chupa Chups is
recognized all over the world, and its logo, designed by Dali, has the same
impact as Coca Cola’s (on which it was based). Bernat converted a small
family business into a large company, based on hard work and kilometers of
samples. He was a pioneer in the branding phenomenon for his use of
brands in sales at a time when no one understood the power of a brand.
CHUPA CHUPS

5. Alejandro Campos Ramirez, alias Alejandro Finisterre, was a
Galician poet, editor and inventor known for creating the foosball
table. In 1936, he was hurt in one of the bombings of Madrid
during the Spanish Civil War. While in the hospital, he met many
hurt children whose greatest pain was not being able to play
football. While recovering, he began construction on the first
foosball table which he based on the ping pong table. The toy
companies couldn’t mass produce the product because they had
been nationalized by both sides and were busy making arms.
When the war was over, the victory of the Nationalists made it
necessary for him to flee to France, but before he left he patented
the product in Barcelona. Unfortunately, he lost the patent while
crossing the Pyrenees on foot, which is what allowed the
Valencian toy makers to initially claim it as their own for many
years (even so, and despite not having kept the patent, a number
of designs with his name on them still exist among Spanish
carpenters and toy makers.) His life was full of adventures. In the
last years of his life he moved to Zamora to be the executor to
his friend the poet Leon Felipe. He died in 2007, and his ashes
were spread over the Duero River from the stone bridge of
Zamora and in the Atlantic Ocean, from Finisterre.
FOOSBALL

6. The Tren Articulado Ligero
Goicoechea Oriol (TALGO) first
appeared in the 1940s and is
considered to be the first modern
train in history. Its designs were
very attractive and modern,
always looking to combine
aerodynamics and style. For
many years they dominated the
world market, even managing to
corner the North American market
from the mid 1960s into the 80s
(in fact many of the trains in the
U.S. today are still TALGOs.) The
engineer Alejandro Goicoechea,
thanks to the financing of Jose
Luis Oriol, was the inventor of the
TALGOs until his death in 1984.
THE TALGO

7. The cable car (or funicular) was a new invention
by the great Leonardo Torres Quevedo, who
made the first cable car in the year 1887 under
the name aerotransbordador or aerocar. When
first received in Switzerland the invention was
mocked, however, after constructing a funicular
in San Sebastian in 1907, the invention became
a world-wide success, and numerous aerocars
were constructed throughout the world. The
most famous of all of them was completed in
1916 at Niagara Falls and is still used today
under the name Spanish Aerocar. In fact, it was
a purely Spanish project, creating the Niagara
Spanish Aerocar Company just for the
occasion.
CABLE CARS

8. In the 1920s, the Casco company, formed by old
manufacturers of revolvers, dedicated itself to
creating office materials. It reached its peak with
the Casco embossing seal, a milestone in world
design. Although initially referred to as
“grapadoras” the modern word for staplers, the
current design (that we know today) first
appeared with this model. Its inventors were Juan
Solozabal and Juan Olive. Today, this model
continues to be sold throughout the world.
THE EMBOSSING SEAL

9. The classic guitar with six strings as we know it today was developed in
Spain between the 8th and 13th centuries (from which time dates its
current design) as a modification of the vihuela, the predecessor of the
guitar. In the past, other kinds of string instruments with a similar look
were used by minstrels and Moors, but nothing exactly like the guitar that
is still in existence today. The electric guitar, for example, is a direct
modification of the old Spanish guitar made by Les Paul in the 10th
Century.
THE CLASSIC GUITAR

10. The engineer Juan de la Cierva invented and constructed this kind of aircraft in the
1920s. The invention consists of the fuselage of an ordinary airplane, which has a
frontal propeller and a motor, on top of which is a free rotor, which spins with the
pressure of the air generated during the horizontal momentum of the machine, creating
vertical wing lift. In this way, the autogiro is able to not have wings, or only uses very
simple ones. An initial problem that La Cierva confronted consisted of surpassing the
inertia of the rotation that the rotor produces (today this is avoided in helicopters
through a small rotor on the tail and two counter-rotating rotors.) This characteristic of
the autogiro’s rotor, conducive to always spinning in the same direction, was bested by
the engineer through a system of articulation that allowed the rotor to lean as was
necessary during the flight. On top of that, this method allowed the machine to be
maneuvered without a steering wheel or wing flaps.
THE AUTO GIRO

11. This invention was dreamed up by an engineer and Airforce official
named Manuel Jalon Corominas in 1956. The first mop was tested
with success in Zaragoza. It consisted of a broomstick that ended in a
tuft of cotton bands. These bands drain in a bucket with a couple of
rollers which were activated by a pedal. From then on, it continued to
be perfected until 1965 when it began to be produced in plastic and
with the appearance that is now familiar to us. Manuel Jalon exported
his invention to over thirty countries with sales up to three million units
per year.
THE MOP

12. Mus is the most popular card game in Spain. Its
origin is Basque, and it’s played in two opposing
pairs of players. The origin of the name refers to
the mouth, because facial expressions play an
important role in the game. The oddest part of
mus is that the players must brag about how great
they are as part of the game, even though it is all
a joke. Sometimes money is bet, but it’s usual
clothes, some drinks or food. The art of bluffing
and deceiving set mus apart from other games.
MUS

13. As we now know it today, the switchblade was born at
the end of the 16th century: with a sharpened blade on
only one end, that ends in a point and is normally
somewhat curved. However, the most important feature
is the mechanism that allows the blade to be folded
inside the sleeve. Its origins are diluted in legends. It is
said to have first appeared because of laws put in place
by Emperor Charles V, which did not allow people in
Spain who were not nobles to carry swords. A sword was
also a very expensive weapon and uncomfortable to
carry for hours. Which is why, starting in the 17th century
production of the switchblade grew and it became very
popular. Though it started in Spain, it was soon being
produced throughout the Mediterranean, first in Italy and
France and then through the rest of Europe until it
reached Germany and England. It was also made in
Portugal and Morocco.
THE SWITCHBLADE