The ashes of the Lanzarote-born scientist Blas Cabrera y Felipe have been returned to the Canaries, and will be buried in the university town of La Laguna in Tenerife.
Known as “the Father of Spanish Physics”, Cabrera died in 1945 in Mexico, where he had gone into exile after being “cleansed” by the Franco dictatorship. His titles and qualifications were removed and only reinstated in 2018.
Although he was born in Arrecife, Blas Cabrera spent most of his childhood in La Laguna. He went on to become one of Spain’s most respected scientists, publishing hundreds of papers, holding the post of director of Spain’s National Physics Research Laboratory for 27 years and hosting Albert Einstein when he visited Spain.
A statue of Blas Cabrera stands outside the UNED building on Arrecife’s seafront. His ashes will be buried in the cemetery of San Luis in La Laguna, alongside those of his wife, his son and grandson. The Mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, said “This is an act of justice for which we should all be glad.”
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