Clemente Estable (23 May 1894 – 27 October 1976) was a Uruguayan

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

researcher Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

, and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

, best known for his work in cellular biology and neurobiology research. In collaboration with Eduardo De Robertis and Magdalena Reissig, Estable authored a study providing definitive proof for neuron theory using the first

electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing it ...

in South America. Estable's work showed that the nervous system was not a continuous network, but rather made up of individual neurons separated by gaps called

synapses In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that allows a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or a target effector cell. Synapses can be classified as either chemical or electrical, depending o ...

. The , which he founded in 1927, is named in his honor.

Early life

Estable was born on 23 May 1894 in a rural area of Canelones, now known as Santa Lucía. He was born ninth of the fourteen children of Giuseppe Stabile and Giuseppa Fallabella, Italian immigrants from San Rufo who immigrated to Uruguay in 1865. The family eventually relocated to

La Union La Union (), officially the Province of La Union (; ; ; ; ; ), is a coastal province in the Philippines situated in the Ilocos Region on the island of Luzon. The province's capital, the San Fernando, La Union, City of San Fernando, is the most ...

, on the outskirts of

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. His parents ran a grocery store that Clemente and his brothers worked at. His older brother Nicolas taught him to read and helped him prepare for post-secondary education. At age 15, Estable was awarded a full scholarship to become a teacher at . He also took extra classes at the medical school but did not attempt to become a physician. Estable was also an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning, self-study and self-teaching) is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions). Overview Autodi ...

of biology, psychology, and microscopy.

Career

After graduating in 1914, he taught at public schools in Montevideo: Primary School #38, the Artigas School, and the España Vocational School. He also returned to teach at the Normal Institutes, where he became the chair of natural history. In 1920, Estable became an educational inspector. He oversaw the technical proficiency of vocational schools. He published his first book, ''El Reino de las Vocaciones'' (''The Kingdom of Vocations'') in 1921, at age 27. The work was accompanied by a series of lectures Estable presented to the Pedagogical Society of Uruguay. In 1922, he received a grant from the Government of Spain to attend the Histologic Research Institute of Madrid. He studied

neuroanatomy Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defi ...

and conducted research under Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist

Santiago Ramón y Cajal Santiago Ramón y Cajal (; 1 May 1852 – 17 October 1934) was a Spanish neuroscientist, pathologist, and histologist specializing in neuroanatomy, and the central nervous system. He and Camillo Golgi received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or M ...

. During this fellowship, Estable published novel histological findings about

Purkinje cell Purkinje cells or Purkinje neurons, named for Czech physiologist Jan Evangelista Purkyně who identified them in 1837, are a unique type of prominent, large neuron located in the Cerebellum, cerebellar Cortex (anatomy), cortex of the brain. Wi ...

axons in the

cerebellum The cerebellum (: cerebella or cerebellums; Latin for 'little brain') is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as it or eve ...

and the olfactory bulb. In 1925, he returned to Montevideo and founded the Laboratory of Biology and Cinematography. A year later, awarded him a posting as Chief of Histological Research at the Neurological Institute. In 1927, he founded the Institute for Biological Sciences and Research. By 1930, Estable developed The Plan Estable, which called for teaching the scientific method as a learning tool in primary school. Through Estable's plan, the scientific method was adopted into the curricula of Natural and Applied Sciences. That same year, Estable presided over the First International Congress of Biologists in Montevideo, as president of The Uruguayan Society of Biologists. In the 1930s, Estable was appointed professor of biology at schools of law and medicine. He also received an honorary degree from the

University of Santiago, Chile The University of Santiago, Chile (Usach) () is one of the oldest public universities in Chile. The institution was born as ''Escuela de Artes y Oficios'' (Spanish: ''School of Arts and Careers'') in 1849 by Ignacy Domeyko, under the government ...

. In 1948, he presided over the first Latin American Scientists Congress, organized by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

and

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

. In 1959, he was given the title of Honorary Professor of

Universidad de Montevideo Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

. In 1962, he was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, the highest French order of merit. In the same year, Italy awarded him an honorary position as a member of The Medical Academy of Rome. According to Estable, scientific research, artistic creation, or philosophical reflections should offer the possibility of living with dignity in civil society. Further, he proposed that the scientist, the artist, and the philosopher all fulfill essential societal and national functions. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the elected public officials to promote these professions and create adequate conditions for them to execute their work.

Personal life

During Estable's posting at the Neurological Institute, he met Isabel Puig, also a teacher. They eventually married and had three children.

Death and legacy

On 27 October 1976, Estable died at the age of 82. Due to his contributions to the cultural, pedagogic, political, and scientific arenas, Estable was buried with a full ceremony reserved for Ministers of State. In 1994, Uruguay released a stamp in his honor on the 100th anniversary of his birth. That same year, the legislature passed Law No. 16.572, which designated 15 elementary schools to be named in his honor.

Bibliography

* ''El Reino de las Vocaciones'' * 1914 – ''El Valor de la Objetivacion en la Ensenanza'', published by Solidaridad. * 1915 – ''La Nutricion'', published by Solidaridad. * 1915 – ''The Scholastic Competitions'', published by Solidaridad. * 1918 - "De la observación y sus medios." Rodo, Montevideo. Vol.1. nǘm.1, pp. 9–11, enero. * 1918 - "Rotación de maestros en la las clases." Rodó, Montevideo. Vol. 1, nǘm. 2, pp. 15–16, febrero. * 1918 - "Higiene sexual en las escuelas." Rodó, Montevideo. Vol. 1, núm. 1, pp. 13–14, enero. * 1918 - "Las proyecciones luminosas en la enseñanza. Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 1, núm. 5, pp. 11, marzo. * 1918 - "Las libretas de lecciones." Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 1, núm. 5, pp. 13–14, mayo. * 1918 - "Dios por las escuelas." Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 1, núm 6, pp. 4–5, junio. * 1918 - "Encaminar a los niños a las buenas obras literarias." Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 1, núm. 8, pp. 4–8, agosto. * 1918 - "Cursos de vacaciones." Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 1, núm. 10, p. 6, octubre. * 1918 - "Huerto interno."Rodó. Montevideo. Vol.1, núms. 11-12, p.30, noviembre-diciembre. * 1918 - "Pinceladas inarmónicas " Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 1, núm.5, pp. 5–6, mayo. * 1918 - "Pinceladas inarmónicas " Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 1, núm.7, pp. 5–6, julio. * 1918 - "Pinceladas inarmónicas " Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 1, núm.8, p. 3, agosto. * 1918 - "La sugestion " Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 1, núm. 9, p. 14, setiembre. * 1919 - "Historia de una planta humilde." La Unión. Montevideo, enero. * 1919 - "La sugestion " Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 2, Núm. 13–14, pp. 1–20, enero-febrero. * 1919 - "Reflexiones sobre la creencia y la duda." La Educación. Montevideo. Aňo II, Núms. 25–26, febrero. * 1919 - "Pinceladas inarmónicas " Rodó. Montevideo. Vol. 2, Núm. 15, p. 5-6, marzo. * 1919 - "De nuestros estudiosos: Historia de una planta humilde." La Razón. Montevideo, 21 de marzo. * 1919 - "Asueto del jueves y periodo de vacaciones." Montevideo. Tipografia Morales Hnos. pp. 13–17. * 1919 - "Superarse a si mismo. A mi intimo amigo Sebastian Morey Otero." La Unión. Montevideo, 31 de agosto. * 1919 - "El sueldo de los maestros." Educación. Montevideo. AñoII. Num.37, pp. 1–3, 28 de octubre. * 1920 - "Sintesis y sugestiones de las conferencias que Pi y Suñer dictó en Montevideo." Anales de instrucción primaria y normal. Montevideo Año XVII,XVIII, Vol. 17, Núms.1-3, pp. 16–35, enero a marzo. * 1921 - "Clases de Biología. (Resumen de las dictadas a los maestros que asistieron a los cursos de vacaciones.)- Conversaciones de Entomología, Doctrina de la neurona,Significación del hambre, en el origen del conocimiento, Cerebro y Corazon." Anales de instrucción primaria. Montevideo. Año XVIII,XIX, Tomo XVIII. Núm 9, pp. 937–989, setiembre. * 1921 - "El Reino de las Vocaciónes; Fin Supremo de la Enseñanza." Imprenta Escuela Naval. 153, paginas. * 1922 - "Elementos de Biología", por

Isidro Más de Ayala Isidro Más de Ayala (Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's ...

. Anales de instrucción primaria y normal. Montevideo Año XIX,XX, Tomo 19. Núm. 5, pp. 416–420, mayo. * 1923 - "Notes sur la structure comparative de L'ecorce céré belleuse, et derivées physiologiques possibles. Travaux de laboratoire de recherches biologiques de l'université de Madrid. Vol. 21, pp. 169-256. * 1924 - "Systemes osmatiques et cause histologique posible de la pluralite d'energies olfactives specifiques." Travaux de laboratoire de recherches biologiques de l'université de Madrid. Vol. 22, pp. 169–358. * 1924 - "Terminaisons nerveuses branchiales de la larve du pleurodeles a waitlii de certaines donnees sur l'innervation gustative." Travaux de laboratoire de recherches biologiques de l'université de Madrid. Vol. 22, pp. 369–384. * 1926 - "El ángulo vísual de nuestra enseñanza es mucho más estrecha que el ángulo vocacional de la vida." La Cruz del Sur. Montevideo., Vol. 3, Núm. 11, pp. 2–3, febrero. * 1926 - "La vendimia del espiritu. La Cruz del Sur. Montevideo. Vol. 3. Núm. 15, pp. 4–5, julio, agosto.

References

External links

Clemente Estable Biological Research InstituteClemente Estable
at Academia Nacional de Letras * {{DEFAULTSORT:Estabile, Clemente 1894 births 1976 deaths Uruguayan people of Italian descent People from Santa Lucía, Uruguay Uruguayan neuroscientists