Ángela Ruiz Robles facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ángela Ruiz Robles
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| Personal details | |
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Ángela Ruiz Robles
March 28, 1895 Villamanín, Leon |
| Died | October 27, 1975 Ferrol, A Coruña |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Parents |
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| Occupation | Teacher, Inventor |
Ángela Ruiz Robles (born March 28, 1895, in Villamanín, León – died October 27, 1975, in Ferrol, A Coruña) was a Spanish teacher, writer, and inventor. She is known for creating an early version of the electronic book, long before modern e-readers existed. She received two patents for her invention, which she called the "Mechanical Encyclopedia" (Spanish: la Enciclopedia Mecánica).
In 1949, Ángela received a patent for a device with buttons that would show learning materials. Later, in 1962, she improved her design. This new version used spinning reels instead of buttons to display subjects and lessons.
Ángela cared deeply about her students and loved teaching. She designed her mechanical encyclopedia to make school bags lighter, make learning more fun, and help each student learn in their own way. Her device had text and pictures on reels, a magnifying glass, and a light for reading in the dark. It was even planned to have spoken descriptions for each topic! Sadly, her invention was never mass-produced. However, you can see a prototype of it at the National Museum of Science and Technology in A Coruña.
Contents
Her Life and Work
Ángela Ruiz Robles, also known as "Doña Angelita," was born on March 28, 1895. Her family was well-off; her father, Feliciano Ruiz, was a pharmacist, and her mother, Elena Robles, was a housewife.
Becoming a Teacher
Ángela studied to become a teacher. She started her career in 1915, teaching shorthand, typing, and business accounting. In 1917, she became a teacher and director at a school in La Pola de Gordón, León. She married Andrés Grandal and had three daughters: Elena, Elvira, and Maria Carmen.
In 1918, she moved to Santa Uxía de Mandiá, a small village near Ferrol, Galicia, where she taught until 1928. Later, in 1934, she did important work as the manager of the National Girls School Orphanage in Ferrol. From 1948, she taught at the Ibañez Martín School, becoming its director in 1959 and staying there until she retired.
A Dedicated Educator
Ángela Ruiz Robles lived during and after the Spanish Civil War. At that time, many women in Spain did not know how to read or write. Most women were housewives and had very little education. This makes Ángela's achievements even more amazing and important.
People admired Ángela Ruiz Robles for her dedication to her students. She always tried to find new and better ways to teach. All her books, inventions, and her entire career focused on making education easy, fun, and available for all students, no matter their needs. In her free time, Doña Angelita even taught free night classes to people who couldn't afford lessons. She would visit her students' homes to make sure they understood what they learned in class.
Ángela Ruiz Robles passed away in 1975 in Ferrol. She continued to pay the fees for her mechanical book patents right up until her death.
Her Inventions and Impact
Ángela Ruiz Robles was a very creative inventor and writer.
Books and Early Inventions
Between 1938 and 1946, Ángela published 16 books designed to help children study. In 1944, she created the Grammatical Scientific Atlas. This project aimed to help people across Spain learn more about grammar and language. She also designed and improved a special machine for fast writing called a tachymecanographic machine.
The Mechanical Encyclopedia
In 1948, Ángela patented her first idea for the Mechanical Encyclopedia (Spanish patent number 190,698). She explained that her invention would make student bags lighter, improve learning, and make studying more fun and easy to understand.
In 1962, Ángela applied for a second patent (276,346) for a simpler version of her Mechanical Encyclopedia. A working model of this design was built in 1962 using bronze, wood, and zinc. However, her invention never became widely available because she couldn't find enough money to produce it.
She also founded, directed, and taught at an academy for adults called Elmaca. She named it using the first letters of her three daughters' names.
In 1970, Ángela Ruiz Robles turned down an offer to let her patents be used in the United States. She wanted her invention to be developed in Spain because "Ferrol was its starting ground." Since 2006, her Mechanical Encyclopedia has been part of the Pedagogical Museum of Galicia. In 2012, it moved to the National Museum of Science and Technology in A Coruña, Spain, where it remains today.
How the Mechanical Encyclopedia Worked
Here is a description of Ángela's amazing device:
When you opened it, it had two parts. On the left, there were automatic alphabets in any language. You could press a button, and the letters you needed would appear, letting you create words, sentences, lessons, or any kind of writing.
Above the alphabets, on the right, was a roll with all sorts of drawings. On the left, there was another roll with decorative pictures. Below the alphabets, there was a plastic sheet where you could write, edit, or draw. Inside, there was a box to store different subjects.
The subjects were kept on the right side, moving under a clear, strong sheet. You could make the text bigger, and the books could be lit up so you could read even in the dark. On both sides of the section where the materials moved, there were two rolls. You could put the books you wanted to read in any language on these rolls. By moving them, all the topics would pass by, and you could stop whenever you wanted. The rolls were automatic and could be taken out of the box and expanded to show the whole subject. You could place the device on a table like a normal book, or stand it upright, which made it easier to use and saved effort. All the parts could be replaced. When closed, it was the same size as a regular book and easy to carry. For authors and publishers, it would greatly lower the cost of making books because it didn't need glue or binding. It could be printed all at once or in sections, which was helpful for everyone.
Awards and Recognition
Even though her inventions were not mass-produced, Ángela Ruiz Robles received many awards and honors from Spain and other countries throughout her life.
- The Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise for her social work and new ideas in education (1947).
- A Gold Medal at an Exhibition for Spanish inventors (1952).
- The Oscar for invention at the Official and National Fair of Zaragoza (1957).
- A Bronze Medal at the International Exhibition in Brussels (1957).
- A Bronze Medal for educational innovation in Brussels (1958).
- A Silver Medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions in Brussels (1963).
- A Medal at the Seville Exhibition (1964).
- The Geneva Medal for Spanish inventors (1968).
She is featured in the 2011 Spanish book 200 Years of Patents in the "Women" section, published by the Spanish Ministry of Industry. On March 28, 2016, Google honored her 121st birthday with a special Google Doodle. In 2018, a street in the Spanish capital was named after her to celebrate her important contributions.
See Also
In Spanish: Ángela Ruiz Robles para niños
Images for kids
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Ángela Ruiz Robles
