Santiago Ramón y Cajal
| Santiago Ramón y Cajal | |
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| Born |
1 May 1852 Petilla de Aragón, Navarre, Spain |
| Died | 17 October 1934 (aged 82) Madrid, Spain |
| Known for | the father of modern neuroscience |
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Santiago Ramón y Cajal (Spanish: [sanˈtjaɣo raˈmon i kaˈxal]; 1 May 1852 – 17 October 1934) was a Spanish pathologist, histologist, neuroscientist, and Nobel laureate. His original pioneering investigations of the microscopic structure of the brain have led to his being designated by many as the father of modern neuroscience. His medical artistry was legendary, and hundreds of his drawings illustrating the delicate arborizations of brain cells are still in use for educational and training purposes.
As a child Ramón y Cajal was transferred many times from one school to another because of behavior that was declared poor, rebellious, and showing an anti-authoritarian attitude. An extreme example of his precociousness and rebelliousness is his imprisonment at the age of eleven for destroying his neighbor's yard gate with a homemade cannon in 1863.
He was an avid painter, artist, and gymnast, but his father neither appreciated nor encouraged these abilities, even though these artistic talents would contribute to his success later in life. In order to tame the unruly character of his son, his father apprenticed him to a shoemaker and barber. "To try and give his son much-needed discipline and stability, Don Justo apprenticed him out to a barber". He was well known for his pugnacious attitude as he worked.
Over the summer of 1868, Ramón y Cajal's father, hoping to interest his son in a medical career, took him to graveyards to find human remains for anatomical study. Sketching bones was a turning point for him and subsequently, he did pursue studies in medicine.
Ramón y Cajal attended the medical school of the University of Zaragoza, where his father was an anatomy teacher. He graduated in 1873. After a competitive examination, he served as a medical officer in the Spanish Army. He took part in an expedition to Cuba in 1874–75, where he contracted malaria and tuberculosis. In order to cure these conditions, he visited the Panticosa spa-town in the Pyrenees.
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