Gregorio Maranon

Gregorio Marañón was a Spanish physician, scientist, historian, writer and philosopher. He is considered one of the most brilliant Spanish intellectuals of the 20th century. He was a pioneer of clinical endocrinology and a prolific author of essays on medicine, history, psychology, and culture. He was also a prominent liberal thinker and a defender of democracy and human rights. Marañón was born in Madrid on 19 May 1887. He studied medicine at the University of Madrid and obtained his doctorate in 1911. He became interested in endocrinology and conducted research on the hormonal basis of sex and personality. He also studied infectious diseases and tropical medicine. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, Africa, and America, and established contacts with leading scientists and intellectuals of his time. Marañón was a professor of endocrinology at the University of Madrid since 1931. He founded the Institute of Medical Pathology and the Institute of Experimental Endocrinology. He also collaborated with the Cajal Institute of Neurobiology. He published numerous scientific papers and books on endocrinology, such as The Endocrine Function of Sex (1920), The Biological Basis of Sexuality (1929), and The Endocrine Function of Personality (1930). Marañón was also a renowned essayist and historian. He wrote biographies of historical figures such as Henry IV of Castile, Tiberius, Amiel, António José da Silva, El Greco, Fernando de Magallanes, among others. He also wrote about moral, religious, cultural, and political topics, such as Love, Convenience and Eugenics (1930), Liberalism and Communism (1937), The Idea of Progress (1941), The State of Man (1942), The Structure of Human Life (1943), The Future of Spain (1954), etc. Marañón was involved in social and political issues. He was a Republican and fought against the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera. He supported the Second Spanish Republic in its beginnings but later criticized it for its lack of cohesion and tolerance. He opposed the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist regime. He advocated for democracy, liberalism, humanism, pacifism, and European integration. He was a member of several academies and institutions, such as the Royal Spanish Academy, the Royal Academy of History, the Royal Academy of Medicine, the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, the Ateneo de Madrid, etc. Marañón died in Madrid on 27 March 1960 due to heart failure. He was buried at the Cementerio de San Justo in Madrid. His legacy is preserved by the Gregorio Marañón Foundation, which aims to perpetuate his thinking and work and promote research in medicine and bioethics.