María de los Ángeles Alvariño González is famous as Ángeles Alvariño. She was a famous Spanish oceanographer, zoologist and professor. She was born on October 3, 1916 in Serantes, Spain and died on May 29, 2005 in La Jolla, United States. Ángeles Alvariño is famous as a scientist who discovered 22 species of marine organisms. She was the first female researcher who was chosen by the Royal Galician Academy of Sciences to celebrate “Science Day in Galicia” on June 1, 2015.Name of her father was Antonio Alvariño Grimaldos whereas name of her mother was María del Carmen González Díaz-Saavedra. Her father was a local doctor whereas her mother was a pianist.
| Full Name | María de los Ángeles Alvariño González |
| Date of Birth | October 3, 1916 |
| Birth Place | Serantes (Spain) |
| Date of Death | May 29, 2005 |
| Death Place | La Jolla (United States) |
| Profession | Oceanographer, Zoologist and Professor |
Early & Higher Education
Ángeles Alvariño had learnt music education from her home and she was able to read and learn music theory and piano in the age of three years. She got her early education and high school education at the Concepción Arenal Institute in Ferrol. María de los Ángeles Alvariño González got her higher education from University of Santiago de Compostela in 1933. She worked in Social Insects and Women in Don Quixote. In 1934, she studied Natural Sciences at the University of Madrid. She completed her doctorate in 1951 with several years of research in Europe in collaborations with the British Council and a Fulbright scholarship. After that, she moved to United States where she carried out her research. She worked in Scripps Oceanographic Institute.
Husband & Daughter of Ángeles Alvariño
Ángeles Alvariño married to Eugenio Leira Manso in 1940. Her husband was captain of the Spanish Navy and Knight of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegildo. She had a daughter named Ángeles Leira Alvariño who was born in 1942. Her daughter was an architect and urban planner in the United States. Leira Alvariño completed and translated her mother’s project after her death.
Professional Career & Achievements of María de los Ángeles Alvariño González
In the beginning, Ángeles Alvariño taught as a biology, zoology, botany and geology teacher in several schools in Ferrol.
In 1948, her husband was assigned duty in Madrid and she completed her doctorate in Experimental Psychology, Analytical Chemistry and Plant Ecology from the University of Madrid. She joined Vigo laboratory of the IEO as an oceanographer biologist in 1952 where she continued studying plankton. She worked as Laboratory assistant during this study. In 1958, she met Mary Sears who was the president of the first oceanographic congress of the United States and an expert in zooplankton at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. On the recommendation of Mary Sears, she joined Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla , California as a reference researcher. She worked in this institute until 1969. She obtained a job of Research Biologist at the Southwest Fisheries Scientific Center which was a division of National Marine Fisheries Service of the United States. Ángeles Alvariño worked there until her retirement in 1987.
She received Silver Medal from the Govt. of Galicia. “ Encyclopedia of World Scientists ” listed her in 1000 most important world scientists of all time. She had written several books including Eels and glass eels(1951) and The Chaetognaths of the Atlantic(1969).