Santiago Ramón y Cajal
(Petilla de Aragón, Navarra, 1852 - Madrid, 1934)

Santiago Ramón y Cajal was one of the most outstanding neuroscientists of all time. He was a restless boy obsessed with nature and drawing, hobbies that collided with the iron discipline imposed by his father. In 1870, he began medical studies at Saragossa and graduated three years later. Subsequently, he passed a competitive exam to enter the Military Medical Corps and went to Cuba in 1874.

He returned to Saragossa in 1875 seriously ill with malaria, and once recovered from his illness, he began his Ph.D., which he obtained in 1877. In 1879, he became director of the Anatomical Museum of Saragossa, and the same year he married Silveria Fañanás, with whom he had seven children.

In 1883, Cajal was appointed to the chair of Descriptive and General Anatomy, at the Faculty of Medicine, Valencia, where he began his histology research. In 1887, he contacted Luis Simarro, who introduced Cajal to Camillo Golgi’s method for staining cells (Golgi’s method appeared in 1873).  Cajal modified it and focused on the study of the nervous system, convinced of the potential of his new technique.

In 1888, he moved to Barcelona as Professor of Histology and Pathological Anatomy. Taking into account his voluminous scientific work, it seems that he was both the editor and main contributor of he Revista Trimestral de Histología Normal y Patológica. In the first issue (1888), he published the article “Estructura de los centros nerviosos de las aves” ("Structure of the nerve centers of the birds”) where, contrary to the ideas in use, he proclaimed the independence of nerve cells, the basis of the neural theory and the starting point of modern neuroscience. The momentous discovery gained international recognition when, in October 1889, he submitted his histological descriptions at the International Congress of Berlin. His reputation transcended throughout Europe and America, and he became the world authority in the field of neuroscience.
 
In 1892, he moved to Madrid where he was appointed to the Chair of Histology and Pathological Anatomy. Cajal received numerous international prizes, honorary degrees and distinctions, among the most important being the Prize of Moscow (1900), the Helmholtz Medal (1905), and the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (1906), which he shared with Golgi.

In 1904, he published his magnum opus, Textura del sistema nervioso del hombre y de los vertebrados, which established the morphological and functional basis of the nervous system in man and vertebrates.

In 1905, he began working on the degeneration and regeneration of the nervous system, a subject that, together with the study of the retina, was the constant object of his research for the rest of his life.

He also was an amateur photographer and made some remarkable contributions in this field, such as La fotografía de los colores (1912), the color technique that he pioneered in Spain. His literary works include Recuerdos de mi vida. Reglas y consejos sobre investigación biológica, Cuentos de vacaciones, Charlas de café, and El mundo visto a los ochenta años.

Ramón y Cajal also proved his commitment and concern for the cultural modernization of Spain, which he considered the fundamental problem of his country.  He explored the subject in numerous essays in which, based on his knowledge of Europe's most prestigious schools, he yearned to establish in Spain the excellence of the British educational system.

The first opportunity to implement his reformist ideals came in 1906 when Sigismundo Moret, President of the Council of Ministers, offered Cajal the Ministry of Public Education. Cajal felt attracted by the idea of implementing a series of reforms to end Spain’s cultural backwardness, but he ended up rejecting the offer given the current political instability. His analysis of the political scene proved to be correct: Moret’s cabinet lasted only five months.

The definitive opportunity came with the creation of the Junta para Ampliación de Estudios (JAE) in 1907. The project offered more guarantees and Cajal did not hesitate to chair the JAE, convinced that he would be able to contribute to the modernization of his beloved country. He performed his duties with absolute dedication and involvement, always leaving his ethical imprint. An example is the proposal-unpublished and kept by his son Luis – that Cajal presented to the JAE meeting on January 8, 1929: "My view is that no subsidy should be increased to any laboratory which does not undertake to publish, like our laboratory does, an annual volume of research (in French or German), costing 12 to 14,000 pesetas. Everything else seems wasteful and discreditable for Spanish researchers who should not seek perquisites in the laboratories, but the materials strictly necessary for their research, and a salary to live. To do otherwise would promote a new parasite, which unfortunately we all know too well: laboratory parasitism.”

The note reflected Cajal’s personal criterion, but José Castillejo, his secretary, wrote clearly in his book, Guerra de ideas en España, how the steering committee of the JAE really worked: "All agreements were made unanimously. Any discrepancy would postpone the matter, and it would be discussed again and again until an agreement was reach among all members.” This modus operandi, conceived by Cajal, was decisive for the effective management of the institution.

With the dictatorship in 1923 came also the repressive measures, including the ominous cloud that hung over the JAE. Indeed, Primo de Rivera was about to issue a decree closing down the institution. As soon as Castillejo heard the news, he reported the dictator's plans to Cajal, who immediately presented himself to Primo de Rivera to hear the reasons for his decision. The dictator replied that the JAE entailed serious political risk because it was a dangerous core of anarchists and communists who would eventually end up creating problems. Cajal assured him that "while I am president, [...] the JAE will never become a center of political turmoil. I've personally taken care that inside the JAE, all political ideologies are represented and live together on the principle of maximum respect for each other. [...] You cannot abolish the JAE.” These words, the personality and prestige of Cajal dissuaded Primo de Rivera. The decree was not published, and the JAE continued its journey.