Professor Carmina Virgili or Carmina Virgili i Rodon (19 June 1927 – 21 November 2014) was a Spanish professor in
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...
and a politician.
Life
Virgili was born in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
on 19 June 1927. She was the youngest of two children born to Guillem Virgili and Carme Rodón Pelegri. Her mother was a pharmacist who sometimes taught in the school of agriculture. During the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
, they lived in the
province of Barcelona
Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .Igualada.Carmina Virgili Rodon 10 March 2015, icog.es, Retrieved 5 November 2015
Virgil entered the University of Barcelona where she took the geographer Salvador Llovet as a mentor. She was a keen student who had the active support of her family. After gaining an honours degree in Natural Science in 1949 she went into teaching at schools in the area of the Catalan county of Vallès. Whilst she was teaching she co-authored an introductory textbook for the natural sciences. This book was successful and ran to many editions.
In August 1953 Barcelona university created a degree in Geology which they separated from the subject of Natural Sciences. Virgili joined the new department.
She gained a doctorate in geology in 1956 at the
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...
. In 1963 she became the first woman professor at the University of Oviedo. She was the third woman to become a professor in Spain. She was the first Dean in 1977.
From 1982 to 1985 she was Junior Minister for Universities and Research. From 1996 to 2000 she was a Socialists' Party of Catalonia
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
active in commissions on euthanasia, risk assessment or Iberoamerican relationships.Carmina Virgili , Alfredo Arche, Retrieved 31 October 2015
In 2008 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the
University of Genoa
The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Ligur ...
. She wrote over 100 publications and she received numerous honours including a Gold Medal from the University of Barcelona in 2011 and emeritus professorship at the Universidad Complutense.Professor Carmina Virgili, Gold Medal of the UB, dies University of Barcelona<, Retrieved 31 October 2015
Virgili died in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
on 21 November 2014. She died single, without children, and left her body to science.