Madrid Street Named after E-Reader Pioneer

Ángela Ruiz Robles, the inventor of the first e-reader, has had a street in Madrid named in her honour.

18:32 26 February 2018

Four decades after her death, Ángela Ruiz Robles, a Spanish teacher, writer, and inventor, was honoured by the Spanish government by naming a street in Madrid after her.

 

Ruiz Robles invented the mechanical encyclopaedia – Spanish patent number 190,698 – that featured audio, a magnifying glass screen, interchangeable reels on different subjects and a light so it could be read in the dark. Ruiz Robles’ aim was to help her student expand their knowledge and lighten their satchels at the same time.

 

Ruiz Robles died in 1975 but her work has gradually gained posthumous recognition. This week, the Madrid City Council named a street in the Spanish capital as part of a wider project that aims to recognise Spanish women who made contributions to the society.

 

Rita Maestre, a spokeswoman for the Madrid government, said: “Keeping alive the memory of those people who have advanced culture or science is fundamental to any society,”

 

“But that recognition will remain incomplete if – as has been the case until now – it ignores half of society. That’s why we have to redouble our efforts to recognise all those women who, in spite of the surrounding context, played key roles in the history of culture and science.”