List of Spanish Inventions And Discoveries (196 items)report

• Alcohol distillation (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Animal Testing, first recorded use of animals for medical testing was done by Ibn Zuhr, known as Avenzoar, (1094–1161). (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Antiseptics were in used as early as the 10th century in hospitals in Islamic Spain. Special protocols, in Al Andalus, were used to keep hygiene before and after surgery. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Botany, Spanish botanist, like Ibn al-Baitar, created hundreds of works/catalogs on the various plants in not only Europe but the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In these works many processes for extracting essential oils, drugs as well as their uses can be found. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Brass type movable printer press/first printing device in Europe, first invented in Muslim Spain 100 years prior to the invention of printing press, by Johannes Gutenburg of Germany, in 1454. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Inheritance of traits first proposed by Abu Al-Zahrawi (936–1013 AD) more than 800 years before Austrian monk, Mendel. Al-Zahrawi was first to record and suggest that hemophilia was an inherited disease. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Inhalation anesthesia, invented by al-Zahrawi and Ibn Zuhr. Used a sponge soaked with narcotic drugs and placed it on patients face. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Ligatures, described in the work of al-Zarawi (936–1013 AD), Kitab al-Tasrif, one of the most influential books in early modern medicine. Describes the process of performing a ligature on blood vessels. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Metronome, invented by Ibn Firnas (9th century) (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Mercuric oxide, first synthesized by Abu al-Qasim al-Qurtubi al-Majriti (10th century). (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Migraine surgery, first performed by al-Zahrawi (936–1013 AD). (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Modern surgery. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (936–1013 AD), better known in the west as Albucasis, is regarded as the father of modern surgery and is the most quoted surgeon of all times. Albucasis invented over 200 tools for use in surgery - many still in use today. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Pathology - various Muslim physicians in Spain were crucial in the development of modern medicine. Pathology, obviously was an important development in medicine. The first correct proposal of the nature of disease was described by al-Zahrawi and Ibn Zuhr. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Pharmacopoeia (book of medicine). During the 14th century, the physician from Malaga, Ibn Baytar, wrote a pharmacopoeia naming over 1400 different drugs and their uses in medicine. This book was written 200 years before the supposed first pharmacopoeia was written by German scholar in 1542. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Speed of sound, was proposed by the Cordoba scholar Ibn Hazm (994–1064 AD). Ibn Hazm argued and calculated the speed of sound by echoes in the Mosque of Cordoba. He is also credited as being the first to propose that thunder was a production of lightning. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Spherical Earth Theory by Ibn Hazm (994–1064 AD). (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Water and weight driven mechanical clocks, by Spanish Muslim engineers sometime between 900–1200 AD. According to historian Will Durant, a watch like device was invented by Ibn Firnas. (Inventions and discoveries from the Golden Age of Al Andalus)

• Artificio de Juanelo by engineer Juanelo Turriano (1500–1585) in the 16th century, designed to supply the city with a source of readily available water by lifting it. At the time they were considered engineering wonders. (Architecture and construction)

• Azulejo (Architecture and construction)

• Calatrava style - The futuristic style of architecture invented and designed by world renown Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava. Examples include the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, in Valencia, the planned Chicago Spire, Puente del Alamillo, in Seville, and the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub at rebuilt New World Trade Center site in New York City. (Architecture and construction)

• Catalan Gothic (Architecture and construction)

• Catalan Modernisme - a very influential style of architecture used not only in Catalonia but throughout Spain. Its greatest pioneer was the most famous architect Antoni Gaudi and his masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia. (Architecture and construction)

• Hacienda (Architecture and construction)

• Herrerian (Architecture and construction)

• Horseshoe arch was first used in Visigothic Spain. (Architecture and construction)

• Isabelline Gothic (Architecture and construction)

• Valencian Gothic (Architecture and construction)

• Valencian Art Nouveau (Architecture and construction)

• Levantine Gothic (Architecture and construction)

• Masia (Architecture and construction)

• Mozarabic (Architecture and construction)

• Mudéjar style (Architecture and construction)

• Neo-Mudéjar (Architecture and construction)

• Palloza (Architecture and construction)

• Pazo (Architecture and construction)

• Plateresque (Architecture and construction)

• Purism architecture (Architecture and construction)

• Repoblación (Architecture and construction)

• Spanish Colonial Architecture (Architecture and construction)

• Spanish Tile (Architecture and construction)

• Visigothic (Architecture and construction)

• First process of creating artificial crystals by Ibn Firnas. (Chemistry)

• Pure alcohol distillation (Chemistry)

• Modern toxicology, by Mateu Orfila (1787–1853). (Chemistry)

• Discovery of vanadium (as vanadinite) in 1801 by geologist and chemist Andrés Manuel del Río (1764–1849) (Chemistry)

• Discovery of Tungsten by Fausto Elhuyar and his brother Juan José Elhuyar in 1783. (Chemistry)

• Discovery of element platinum by scientist, soldier and author Antonio de Ulloa (1716–1795) with Jorge Juan y Santacilia (1713–1773). (Chemistry)

• Discovery of carbon monoxide and pure alcohol by alchemist and physician Arnold of Villanova (c. 1235–1311) (Chemistry)

• Nanoparticle hollowing method (Chemistry)

• Self healing polymers by CIDETEC Centre for Electrochemical Technologies. (Chemistry)

• Telekino, pioneering of remote control, by engineer and mathematician Leonardo Torres y Quevedo (1852–1936) (Computing and Communications)

• The first calculator, invented by Ramon Silvestre Verea Garcia in 1878. The calculator was able to add, subtract, multiply and divide. The calculator could compute results up to 15 digits. (Computing and Communications)

• Automated calculation machines by engineer and mathematician Leonardo Torres y Quevedo (1852–1936) (Computing and Communications)

• Electronic book by teacher, writer and inventor Ángela Ruiz Robles (1895-1975). (Computing and Communications)

• Radio. Julio Cervera Baviera made contributions to early radio communications. (Computing and Communications)

• Chocolate caliente (hot chocolate) - the Mesoamericans drank chocolate strait bitter and sometimes flavored with spicy peppers. Spanish conquistadors were not fans of the original mix and instead created their own sweeten hot chocolate by adding sugar from sugar cane. For many years, the Spanish kept their prized chocolate a secret until its expansion into other European courts. (Cuisine)

• Chupa Chups (Cuisine)

• Chorizo (Cuisine)

• Jamón ibérico (Cuisine)

• Spanish omelette (Cuisine)

• Jerez - also known as Sherry (Cuisine)

• Paella (Cuisine)

• Spanish cuisine (Cuisine)

• Development of the first monetarist theory and the quantitative theory of money by economist Martín de Azpilcueta (1492–1586), member of the School of Salamanca. (Economics)

• Precursor of international law theory by Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1480/86 – 1546), member of the School of Salamanca (Economics)

• First world currency (Economics)

• Farthingale (Fashion)

• Spray-on-clothing by Manel Torres (Fashion)

• Borda Count - by Ramon Llull, around 1299, centuries before Jean-Charles de Borda (Mathematics and statistics)

• Condorcet criterion - by Ramon Llull, around 1299, centuries before Nicolas de Condorcet (Mathematics and statistics)

• Dynamical Systems by Ricardo Pérez-Marco (Mathematics and statistics)

• Nualart stochastic processes and stochastic analysis (field of probability theory). (Mathematics and statistics)

• Speculative Arithmetic (Mathematics and statistics)

• Gregorian calendar - reforms from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar by Spanish mathematician, Pedro Chacón. (Mathematics and statistics)

• Geostatistical Analysis of Compositional Data by Vera Pawlowsky-Glahn and Ricardo A. Olea (Mathematics and statistics)

• Group Theory and Lie algebras works done by Maria Wonenburger (1927–2014). (Mathematics and statistics)

• Integral geometry by Luís Antoni Santaló Sors (Mathematics and statistics)

• Modelling and Analysis of Compositional Data by Vera Pawlowsky-Glahn, Juan José Egozcue, Raimon Tolosana-Delgado (Mathematics and statistics)

• Nonlinear partial differential equations and their applications by Juan Luis Vázquez Suárez (Mathematics and statistics)

• Oscillation theory of the obliquity of the ecliptic by Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm ibn Yaḥyā al-Naqqāsh al-Zarqālī, also known as Al-Zarqali or Ibn Zarqala (1029–1087). (Mathematics and statistics)

• Probabilism - proto-statistics and probability. Some of the earliest works in statistics and probability are done by Spanish mathematicians in the school of Salamanca. (Mathematics and statistics)

• Spherical Trigonometry - work of Abū Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Muʿādh al-Jayyānī (989–1079 AD). Greatly influenced Western mathematics, including the works of Regiomontanus. (Mathematics and statistics)

• Tirocinio aritmético by María Andrea Casamayor (1700–1780) (Mathematics and statistics)

• Works of Enrique Zuazua in Applied Mathematics in the fields of Partial Differential Equations, Control Theory and Numerical Analysis (Mathematics and statistics)

• Synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA) by Nobel prize Laureate Severo Ochoa (1905–1993). (Medicine and biology)

• Neuroscience by Nobel prize Laureate (1906) Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934). (Medicine and biology)

• Discovery of the microglia or Hortega cell by the neuroscientist Pío del Río Hortega (1882–1945) (Medicine and biology)

• Discovery that the human cell has 46 chromosomes - jointly discovered with a Swedish scientist. (Medicine and biology)

• Discovery that the parasitic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, reproduce by cloning - discovered by Francisco J. Ayala. (Medicine and biology)

• The effect of hormone levels on the mind - crucial to forming a relationship between psychology and endocrinology, by Gregorio Marañón. (Medicine and biology)

• First European description of pulmonary circulation by scientist, surgeon and humanist Miguel Servet (1511–1553) (Medicine and biology)

• A worldwide used "two-piece" disposable syringe (1978) by Manuel Jalón Corominas (1925–2011) (Medicine and biology)

• Use of Radiology and Radiotherapy for diagnostics by Celedonio Calatayud (1880-1931). (Medicine and biology)

• Animal Testing, first recorded use of animals for medical testing was done by Ibn Zuhr, known as Avenzoar, (1094–1162). (Medicine and biology)

• Antiseptics were in used as early as the 10th century in hospitals in Islamic Spain. Special protocols, in Al Andalus, were used to keep hygiene before and after surgery. (Medicine and biology)

• Botany, Spanish botanist, like Ibn al-Baitar, created hundreds of works/catalogs on the various plants in not only Europe but the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In these works many processes for extracting essential oils, drugs as well as their uses can be found. (Medicine and biology)

• The CRISPR System - Discovered by Francisco Mojica, from the University of Alicante. The discovery of the CRISPR system is the discovery of the 21st century in the fields of medicine, genetics, virology, immunology, biochemistry and molecular biology. This new technology has revolutionized research in genetics and biochemistry and molecular biology. The CRISPR revolution brings us new tools to edit genomes with great accuracy and precision. It may one day help us cure genetic disorders and cancers. (Medicine and biology)

• Ectopic pregnancy - first described by Al-Zahrawi (936–1013 AD). (Medicine and biology)

• Eye glasses, first invented by Ibn Firnas in the 9th century. (Medicine and biology)

• Inheritance of traits first proposed by Abu Al-Zahrawi (936–1013 AD) more than 800 years before Austrian monk, Mendel. Al-Zahrawi was first to record and suggest that hemophilia was an inherited disease. (Medicine and biology)

• Inhalation anesthesia, invented by al-Zahrawi and Ibn Zuhr. Used a sponge soaked with narcotic drugs and placed it on patients face. (Medicine and biology)

• Laryngoscope by singer, music educator, and vocal pedagogue Manuel García (1805–1906). (Medicine and biology)

• Ligatures, described in the work of al-Zahrawi (936–1013 AD), Kitab al-Tasrif, one of the most influential books in early modern medicine. Describes the process of performing a ligature on blood vessels. (Medicine and biology)

• Migraine surgery, first performed by al-Zahrawi (936–1013 AD). (Medicine and biology)

• Modern surgery. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (936–1013 AD), better known in the west as Albucasis, is regarded as the father of modern surgery and is the most quoted surgeon of all times. Albucasis invented over 200 tools for use in surgery - many still in use today. (Medicine and biology)

• Nuubo - Wearable medical technology that measures heart rate, blood pressure, perspiration, body temperature and current location. (Medicine and biology)

• Pathology - various Muslim physicians in Spain were crucial in the development of modern medicine. Pathology, obviously was an important development in medicine. The first correct proposal of the nature of disease was described by al-Zahrawi and Ibn Zuhr. (Medicine and biology)

• Pharmacopoeia (book of medicine). During the 14th century, the physician from Malaga, Ibn Baytar, wrote a pharmacopoeia naming over 1400 different drugs and their uses in medicine. This book was written 200 years before the supposed first pharmacopoeia was written by German scholar in 1542. (Medicine and biology)

• Silver bromide method. (Medicine and biology)

• Wheelchair - was first invented for the use of the most powerful man in the world at the time, King Phillip II of Spain, who was suffering from gout. (Medicine and biology)

• The barocyclometer, the nephoscope, and the microseismograph by meteorologist José María Algué (1856–1930). (Meteorology)

• Use of aggressive dogs in warfare (Military)

• First professional army in Europe – men were hired and trained in Spain to join the army as their professional job not as some levy or through hiring mercenaries (Military)

• Falcata swords used by Iberian tribes. (Military)

• Gladius Hispanensis (antennae swords) - Swords adopted by the Romans after the second Punic war. The Iberian sword was considered superior to that of the Romans. (Military)

• Guerrilla warfare developed in Spain during the Napoleonic invasion of the Iberian peninsula. (Military)

• Miquelet lock was invented by gunsmiths in Madrid during the late 16th century(around ca 1570) (Military)

• Molotov cocktails were first developed in Spain during the Spanish civil war and were ordered to be used by the Nationalist forces against Soviet T-26 tanks supporting the Spanish Republic. (Military)

• Tercios greatly modernized fighting in Europe. It is seen by military historians as one of the great developments of combined arms and tactics for warfare. The Spanish Tercios were undefeated in every war until Battle of Rocroi in 1643 and were greatly feared as an invincible army. (Military)

• Toledo steel - The Iberian region has been known for high quality metal working and sword productions since pre-Roman times. Toledo steel refers to both the high quality steel and that legacy of steel work in the Iberian peninsula from pre-Roman to post-Roman times in the Middle Ages. **Damascus steel was said to be the only rival of Toledo steel in the Middle Ages. (Military)

• Rapier Spain was the first European country to use rapiers (Military)

• Alboka (Musical Instruments)

• Bandurria (Musical Instruments)

• Botet (Musical Instruments)

• Catalan shawm (Musical Instruments)

• Classical guitar (Musical Instruments)

• Chácaras (Musical Instruments)

• Dulzaina (Musical Instruments)

• Fiscorn (Musical Instruments)

• Flabiol (Musical Instruments)

• Gaita Asturiana (Musical Instruments)

• Gaita de boto (Musical Instruments)

• Gaita gastoreña (Musical Instruments)

• Gaita de saco (Musical Instruments)

• Gaita sanabresa (Musical Instruments)

• Galician gaita (Musical Instruments)

• Gralla (Musical Instruments)

• Guitarra de canya (Musical Instruments)

• Kirikoketa (Musical Instruments)

• Nunun (Musical Instruments)

• Palmas (Musical Instruments)

• Psalterium (Musical Instruments)

• Reclam de xeremies (Musical Instruments)

• Sac de gemecs (Musical Instruments)

• Tambori (Musical Instruments)

• Timple (Musical Instruments)

• Trikiti (Musical Instruments)

• Trompa de Ribagorza (Musical Instruments)

• Txalaparta (Musical Instruments)

• Txistu (Musical Instruments)

• Violí de bufa (Musical Instruments)

• Xeremia (Musical Instruments)

• Xirula (Musical Instruments)

• Anarcho-syndicalism (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Averroism - the school of philosophy founded by Al-Andalus philosopher Averroes. Averroes in one of the most quoted men of the medieval era and has greatly influenced Western Europe. (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Balance of Powers (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Borda Count - by Ramon Llull, around 1299, centuries before Jean-Charles de Borda (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Condorcet criterion - by Ramon Llull, around 1299, centuries before Nicolas de Condorcet (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Expropriative anarchism (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• International Law - According to the main argument agreed at Salamance, the common good of the world is of a category superior to the good of each state. This meant that relations between states ought to pass from being justified by force to being justified by law and justice. Hence calling for international law. (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Justification of war - argued greatly in the School of Salamanca. The main argument was given that war is one of the worst evils suffered by mankind, the adherents of the School reasoned that it ought to be resorted to only when it was necessary in order to prevent an even greater evil. A diplomatic agreement is preferable, even for the more powerful party, before a war is started. Even war for the conversion of pagans and infidels was considered unjust at the school of Salamanca. (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Maimonides (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Razon Historica (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Raciovitalismo (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Rights of People - Francisco de Vitoria is the first western European to argue for the rights of man and is considered the father of modern rights of people theory. His most famous work is Ius Gentium (Latin for The Rights of People) (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Stoicism - Some of the most important stoic philosophical works are by Iberian born or descendent philosophers including the works of Seneca the younger, born in Cordoba, as well as the stoic masterpiece, Meditations, by Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, born in Rome but whose family originate in Ucubi, Spain (small town close to Cordoba). (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Second Scholasticism - Francisco Suarez is considered the most important European scholastic after Thomas Aquinas. (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• School of Salamanca Movement - greatly intertwined with second scholasticism, but it was the rise in philosophical works on politics, ethics, religion, society and human rights. As we know, our modern concept of human rights, equality and liberty originate in the enlightenment revolutions, especially in France and US, however, about 300–200 years before the enlightenment, the great scholars of the University of Salamanca were writing and discussing the same ideas. The ideas of international law, balance of powers, civil law, order, and just war were all discussed and debated by these Spanish scholars. Francisco Suarez is the most famous Salamancan scholar of this era. Is considered the most important European scholastic after Thomas Aquinas. (Sociology, Philosophy and Politics)

• Autogyro by Juan de la Cierva, pioneer of rotary flight, direct precursor of the helicopter (Transportation)

• Steam engine by Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont, the invention of a steam-powered water pump for draining mines, for which he was granted a patent by the Spanish monarchy in 1606. (Transportation)

• First machine powered submarine by Narcís Monturiol (1818–1885) (Transportation)

• Peral Submarine, design of the first fully operative military submarine by Isaac Peral (1851–1895) (Transportation)

• The funicular over the Niagara Falls by engineer and mathematician Leonardo Torres y Quevedo (1852–1936) (Transportation)

• Aerial tramway designed by Spanish engineer, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo. It was Manufactured by J. Enoch Thompson, and built in 1913 by the Spanish company The Niagara Spanish Aerocar Co. Limited. The first aerial tram was opened in August 1916, and has since been updated in 1961, 1967 and 1984. She continues in operation as a tourist attraction. (Transportation)

• Equatorium (Physics and Astronomy)

• Magnetic wormhole - first ever manmade wormhole created at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona by Spanish physicist Jordi Prat-Camps. The magnetic wormhole makes the magnetic field invisible. (Physics and Astronomy)

• The first telescope was invented by Catalan spectacle maker, Juan Roget, before the Dutch inventor Hans Lipperhey according to Catalan historian, Simon de Gualleuma, and British historian, Nick Pelling. (Physics and Astronomy)

• Theoretical work on Gravity by Juan Bautista Villalpando ( born 1552 in Córdoba, died 22 May 1608). He may be the father of gravitational theory and influence Newton, who indeed had copies of Buatista's work on gravity, geometry and architecture. Baustista produced 21 original propositions on the center of gravity and the line of direction. (Physics and Astronomy)

• First full-pressured astronaut suit, called the escafandra estratonáutica, designed and made by Emilio Herrera Linares, in 1935. The Russians then used a model of Herrera's suit when first flying into space of which the Americans would then later adopt when creating their own space program. (Physics and Astronomy)

• First planetarium by Ibn Firnas. (Physics and Astronomy)

• speed of sound, was proposed by physicist from Cordoba, Ibn Hazm (994–1064 AD). Ibn Hazm argued and calculated the speed of sound by echoes in the Mosque of Cordoba. He is also credited as being the first to propose that thunder was a production of lightning. (Physics and Astronomy)

• Spherical Earth Theory by Ibn Hazm (994-1064 AD). (Physics and Astronomy)

• Tables of Toledo (Physics and Astronomy)

• Viscoelastic gravity layer (Physics and Astronomy)

• Water and weight driven mechanical clocks, by Spanish Muslim engineers sometime between 900–1200 AD. According to historian Will Durant, a watch like device was invented by Ibn Firnas. (Physics and Astronomy)

• Wormhole - first wormhole to be created was at the Autonomous University of Barcelona by Spanish physicist, Jordi Prat-Camps. (Physics and Astronomy)

• Modern rules of chess. Although chess has its origins in India, the modern rules of chess have their origin Spain. It is still under debate whether the rules were invented in the Islamic period or when the Christians took Toledo. (Miscellaneous)

• El Ajedrecista, invention of the automatic chess by engineer and mathematician Leonardo Torres y Quevedo (1852–1936) (Miscellaneous)

• The mop (1956) by Manuel Jalón Corominas (1925–2011). (Miscellaneous)

• The first stapler, designed and created in the Basque country of Spain for French King, Louis XV, in the 18th century. The staples had engraved on them the royal emblem. (Miscellaneous)

• First cigarette. The mesoamericans, like the Mayans and Aztecs smoked tobacco by using different leaves as rolling paper, the Spanish were the first to manufacture the grandfather of the modern day cigarette. When tobacco first made it onto Spanish shores in the 17th century, maize wrappers were used to roll and then fine paper. (Miscellaneous)

• The oldest folding/pocket knife have been found during the Iron Age (pre-Roman times)in Spain. The title is contested with folding knives found in Hallstatt culture region in Austria from around the same time. (Miscellaneous)

• Foosball. The first patent for table football belonged to Spaniard, Alejandro Finisterre, though he credits his friend, Francisco Javier Altuna, with the invention. (Miscellaneous)

• Glass mirrors, used in Islamic Spain as early as 11th century – 200 years prior to the Venetians. (Miscellaneous)

• Lollipops were first invented by Enric Bernat Fontlladosa between 1956 and 1957. (Miscellaneous)

• The sharpener created in 1945 by Ignacio Urresti. (Miscellaneous)

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