7,077,022 on July 18, 2006. So, with that out of the way, in homage to this month of Hispanic heritage and pride, we have honored some of the many noteworthy Hispanic inventors and engineers. According to Nature.com,Zaffaroni played a major role in the development of extended-release tablets, implantable devices, transdermal patches (notably the NicoDerm CQ nicotine patch), and inhalers, such as Adasuve. He also served as the head of research at a pharmaceutical company that developed one of the earliest effective birth control pills. Peral presented his idea to the Spanish navy staff after conducting various investigations and experiments and receiving approval from his superiors and fellow officers. According to the Smithsonian, Victor Ochoa had a reward of $50,000 offered for his delivery dead or alive to Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico. We are fortunate to have his papers in the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History. The first incubators were used in France in 1880, but Lvanos design, called the Incuven, regulates temperature and reduces risk of contamination to babies. He sold the patent in 1907 to the American Brake Company in Seattle. Liotta is not only a gifted heart surgeon, but hes also responsible for creating the first artificial heart used in a human being! 1860s - January 5, 1943. This is a list of inventors and discoverers who are of Spanish origin or otherwise reside in continental Spain or one of the country's oversees territories. the most famous invention from your state. The AcceleGlove contains sensors that work with a micro-controller attached to the wearer's arm and maps the movement of the arm and fingers. Here are 5 incredible inventions by a . ThoughtCo, Jul. The son of Puerto Rican immigrants, he was born in 1940 and grew up in the Bronx, New York, where he received a diploma from Cardinal Hayes High School. 31, 2021, thoughtco.com/list-of-hispanic-inventors-1991700. Side note: He is the father of singer Joan Baez. The field of X-ray optics was greatly expanded after its invention. Bellis, Mary. Domingo Santo Liotta was born in Argentina in 1924 to Italian immigrants and went on to become a heart surgery pioneer. George Washington Carver. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. And so, on to the main event. Other notable names include astrophysicist France A. Crdova, the first women to hold the position of NASA Chief Scientist and now Director of the National Science Foundation; Mexican engineer Guillermo Gonzlez Camarena, who invented an early color television transmission system; molecular biologist Lydia Villa-Komaroff, who conducted pioneering work in DNA technology and protein synthesis; and computer scientist Luis Von Ahn, a MacArthur Fellow who co-created CAPTCHA while a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University and then invented ReCAPTCHA and Duolingo. Manny Villafaa at St. Jude Medical headquarters, June 27, 2013. Ultimately, ALZA launched more than 20 prescription medications before being bought by Johnson & Johnson. This version was a vast improvement on simply crushing the potatoes on your own as it produced a smoother and more buttery soft potato. From searching for solutions to climate change challenges to finding cures for terminal illnesses, Latin American women innovators are . She is a member of the California State Bar, the Federal Circuit Bar, the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, and a licensed Patent Attorney. Von Ahn is also a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the language-learning software Duolingo and a consulting professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As the only womaninventor on this list, Doctor Mara del Socorro Flores Gonzlez won the MEXWII 2006 award for her work on diagnostic methods for invasive amebiasis. We may have questions about your feedback, please provide your email address. He died in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1999 at the age of 75. A true character in his time, religion and . 1938-2009. 01.23.20 at 4:43 pm. This device allowed color to be captured by the black and white cameras of the time. Additionally, on September 16 and September 18, respectively, Mexico and Chile commemorate their respective independence days. These are the most ironic inventions ever. Depending on where you reside, the leaves begin to turn to beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds. In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, we took a look at some of those influential figures who have brought important innovations to a variety of . 11 Inspiring Famous Hispanic Scientists. Do you have a favorite Hispanic inventor of your own? M. Gregorio Maran (1887-1960), doctor and researcher, . Before developing the "BeautyBlender," Silva also worked on the sets of films, including "Friday" (1995), "Money Talks"(1997), and "Idle Hands"(1999), as well as television programs like "Girlfriends" and "Moesha.". The Beauty blender was developed to save performers from having to be pulled off the set when using an airbrush to apply foundation mid-shoot. In 2012, Ochoa became the first Hispanic and second woman to be named Director of NASAs Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, Texas. The following year she was the Payload Commander on the Atlantis mission. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006. Professor Arturo Arias Surez (1923-2003), a civil engineer who taught at the University of Chile, developed a method that made it possible for scientists to calculate the likelihood of damage from a potential earthquake in a specific area. Plasma engine for rockets. At the ripe old age of 97, Liotta passed away on the 31st of August, 2022. His invention is still useful today in the study of phonics and the diagnosis of oral conditions like laryngitis. Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on the 18th of February, 1924, Humberto Fernndez-Morn Villalobos was a Venezuelan research scientist who made numerous significant scientific contributions. That honor for the earliest incubator ever developed goes to a device created in 1800s France. Peruvian engineer Claudio Castilln Lvano created a portable respirator and incubator for premature babies. He is also credited with developing clips for pencils and pens, which enable them to fit into shirt pockets. Victor Ochoa, who was born in Ojinaga, Mexico, in 1850, created an early form of electric streetcar brakes. Needless to say, this list is in no particular order and is not exhaustive. So, he famously gutted the submarine's interior and destroyed plans to prevent the technology from falling into foreign nations' hands. Dr. Jose Hernandez-Rebollar was born in Puebla, Mexico, on the 14th of July, 1969. Miramontes worked out the missing piece of the puzzle to create progestin, a progesterone-like hormone that could be taken orally to prevent ovulation. As late as 1979, NASA transmitted photos from Jupiter using his invention. Born in Puerto Rico, Olga D. Gonzlez-Sanabria was granted U.S. Patent 4,505,998 for "Alkaline Battery Containing a Separator of a Cross-Linked Polymer of Vinyl Alcohol and Unsaturated Carboxylic Acid." He was the first to employ the idea of cryo-ultramicrotomy, which is used to section vitrified biological samples, and contributed to the electron microscope. Ochoa also invented the Ochoaplane and the adjustable wrench. On February 8, 1963, he was permitted to transmit Paraso Infantil on the station he founded in Mexico City, XHGC-TV, the country's first officially announced color broadcast. There he met a lot of children who complained that they couldn't play football. Victor L. Ochoa Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. It created the ability to view a functioning human voice box in action. National Hispanic Heritage Month, held each year from September 15 - October 15, celebrates Hispanic cultures and heritage and recognizes the many contributions Hispanic Americans have made to this nation. [18] [19] [20] Beard, Andrew. She is known for her independent films and documentaries, including one about Alexander Graham Bell. Hispanic-Americans, both immigrants and their descendants, have changed the world through their contributions to science, industry, the arts, sports, and politics on Earth, obviously, but even beyond. While serving as Secretary of Health, he traveled to China and Israel, where he signed agreements with President Ephraim Katzir and Premier Chou En-lai. Have a comment about the web page you were viewing? Then it was up to Spanish-language media to get the word out. The first oral contraceptive, tradename Norinyl, was manufactured by Syntex Corp. Victor Celorio patented the "Instabook Maker" a technology supporting e-book distribution by quickly and elegantly printing an offline copy. This Spanish inventor was responsible for the creation of one of the lesser-known Spanish inventions, the pencil sharpener. National Association of Hispanic Nurses. As a successful medical salesman at Picker International, Villafaa was recruited by Medtronic co-founder Earl Bakken (also featured in Places of Invention) and relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ochoas family is originally from Mexico, but they moved to California before she was born. How many inventors can claim that?! . That honor for the earliest incubator ever developed goes to a device created in 1800s France. A more recent Lemelson Center connection was made with Manuel Manny Villafaa, who is briefly highlighted in the Centers Places of Invention exhibition and whose papers are in the Archives Center along with his heart valve collection housed in the Museums Division of Medicine and Science. He created his . This procedure proved to be a viable option as a bridge to cardiac transplantation. Chief among them was the invention of the diamond knife or scalpel and a significant advancement in the creation of electromagnetic lenses for electron microscopy based on superconducting technology. https://www.thoughtco.com/list-of-hispanic-inventors-1991700 (accessed March 4, 2023). In order to keep heart arteries open after an angioplasty, Palmaz created a balloon-expandable stent in collaboration with physician Richard Schatz. As a veteran of three space flights, logging over 719 hours in space, she was also an electrical engineer with patents on high-tech optical . As of 2004, about 2,800 of the X . Gonzlez Camarena publicly demonstrated his color television with a transmission on August 31, 1946. Thomas Edison may have invented the electric light bulb, but Latimer helped make it a common feature in American households. According to the Smithsonian Institution, Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman astronaut. He stopped performing on stage at a young age and started giving lessons at the Paris Conservatory in the 1830s and the Royal Academy of Music in London from the 1840s onwards. de Cuadros was granted U.S. A native of Venezuela, Dr. Humberto Fernandez-Moran Villalobos invented and patented the diamond scalpel. I was surprised initially by the limited information available in peer-reviewed publications, credible online sources, and research data sets. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/list-of-hispanic-inventors-1991700. The Palmaz-Schatz Stent was given a patent, Johnson & Johnson, a healthcare provider, provided funding, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it. Most Americans at that time did not have indoor plumbing, central heating and electricity. Copyright 2023, Smithsonian Institution, All Rights Reserved, Highlighting Hispanic Inventors and Innovators, blog-smith-monica-2017-09-22-victor-ochoa-undated-ac0590-0000008-ochoaplane-undated-ac0590-0000009-cnmah-750-inline-edit.jpg, blog-smith-monica-2017-09-22-ellen-ochoa-sts110-e-5254-11-april-2002-cnasa-750-inline-edit.jpg, visit at the Smithsonians Udvar-Hazy Center, named Director of NASAs Johnson Space Flight Center, blog-smith-monica-2017-09-22-manny-villafana-at-st-jude-medical--27-june-2013-cmonica-smith-750-inline-edit.jpg, blog-smith-monica-2017-09-22-nsf-director-france-cordova-presenting-fy17-budget-9-february-2016-cnsf-750-inline-edit.jpg, Notes from the Director: Hispanic Heritage Month. He would later, in 1907, sell the invention to the Seattle-based American Brake Company. Two male inventorsCharles Gabriel Pravaz of Scotland and Alexander Wood of Franceindependently created the first fine-needle syringes usable on humans in the early 1850s. ", National Science Foundation Director France A. Crdova presenting the fiscal year 2017 NSF budget request on February 9, 2016. In addition to being a noted physicist, he was also a passionate humanitarian and educator. Famous Hispanic people and inventors help us carry on Hispanic Heritage Month with pride and teach future generations about their culture and its contributions. Ruiz received a Spanish patent number of 190,698 in 1949 for devices with buttons that displayed the lesson materials when pressed and engaged. On top of the usual festivities, were giving extra recognition to often overlooked Hispanic inventors whose contributions have benefited communities around the world. World Book Online is an engaging, verified, and trustworthy digital resource for grades pre-K through high school. One such device came from the mind of Emilio Herrera Linares, from Spain. He was the first to transmit the human voice via radio waves, sending a signal from one radio tower to another. 7. He was made Minister of Science in the final year of the Marcos Prez Jimnez dictatorship and was forced to flee Venezuela in 1958 when the regime was abolished. Fortunately, the more I search, the more stories I unearth of Hispanicengineers, scientists, and other specialists developing inventions and innovations in fields ranging from aerospace and information technology to chemical engineering and medical devices. She also contributed to creating three patents in the field of optics. When not in prison, he was busy filing for USand international patents and even incorporated the International Airship Company in Patterson, New Jersey, presumably to manufacture his Ochoaplane. These Hispanic inventors, many of which toiled in obscurity have incredible stories that are worth sharing. Art by Stephany Torres for Remezcla. Ochoa was also featured in the Smithsonian Latino Centers Our Journeys/Our Stories traveling exhibition alongside Mexican innovator Mario J. Molina, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Paul J. Crutzen and F. Sherwood Rowland for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone.. 6. He also developed the three-phase system of electric power transmission. This is a kind of irregular combat where a small . He created the "Instrumental Seismic Intensity" or "Arias Intensity" (AI) method in 1970. Dr. Baez led a long life of contribution to the sciences before passing away in 2007. "Hispanic or Latino refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. NASA uses her innovations to process data gathered during missions to this very day. Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, STS-110 Atlantis mission specialist, works the controls of the Canadarm2 robotic arm in the Destiny Laboratory on the International Space Station, April 11, 2002. There, she created three inventions that improved the speed and effectiveness of how computers handle information. Linares invented the pressurized space suit in 1936, initially to protect people flying in hot air balloons to high altitudes. It is also thought that he invented the pencil and pen clips that allow them to attach to shirt pockets. The following list is composed of items, techniques and processes that were invented by or discovered by people from Spain.. Spain was an important center of knowledge during the medieval era.While most of western and southern Europe suffered from the collapse of the Roman Empire, although declining, some regions of the former empire, Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula), southern Italy, and the . Mention their names and achievements below to share with the Direct Auto community! Chemist, Luis Miramontes co-invented the contraceptive pill. USPTO - United States Patent and Trademark Office, Hispanic Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program event series, Madrid Protocol & international protection, Checking application status & viewing documents, Checking registration status & viewing documents, Enforcing your trademark rights/trademark litigation, International intergovernmental organizations, Transferring ownership / Assignments help, Office of the Chief Communications Officer. ThoughtCo. She was looking for a way to allow her students to carry fewer books to and from classes, so she created a mechanical encyclopedia. Heres what the terms Latino, Hispanic, and Latinx mean and how to use them. Historically, entrepreneurs have relied on patents to protect their inventions from market competitors. Zaffaroni patented these early transdermal drug devices in the 1970s. His invention became famous in its day when opera singer Jenny Lind, who had had vocal damage from overuse in her early 20s, gave him credit for rescuing her career, thanks in part to Garca's groundbreaking device. This includes people who reported detailed Hispanic or Latino groups.". The son of a renowned singer and educator, Garca eventually took work as a baritone singer. A brief listing of notable Black American inventors. Manuel Ussel de Guimbarda/Wikimedia Commons, Spanish engineer and naval officer Isaac Peral y Caballero (1851-1895) is credited with creating an early electrical-powered submarine, the "Peral Submarine.".