Complutense University of Madrid - The Central University of Madrid

The Central University of Madrid

By a royal order of 29 October 1836, Queen Regent Maria Christina suppressed the university in Alcalá and ordered its move to Madrid, where it took the name of Literary University and, in 1851, of Central University of Madrid. The University would be known under this name until its original name of "Complutense" was restored in the 1970s.

As a product of the mid-19th century mindset of "renewal" (after the dark absolutist years that characterized the reign of Ferdinand VII), the Central University of Madrid had a fundamental objective of ending the system of traditional education typical of the Ancien Régime and replacing it with a new, liberal mindset. The University initially occupied the edifice of the Seminary for Nobles (originally built to serve as a school, later placed into service as army barracks during the Spanish War of Independence, and finally serving as military hospital prior to its occupation by the Central University), later relocating to the Salesian Convent on San Bernardo Street. In 1842, the institution moved to the former Jesuit Novitiary, which would serve henceforth as the seat of the Central University; today this building houses the Instituto de España ("Institute of Spain"), a state agency under which the eight Royal Spanish Academies exist. The modern Paraninfo on San Bernardo was built in 1852 using the walls of the former Jesuit church.

The Moyano Law of 1857 established the Central University as the sole university in Spain authorized to confer the title of Doctor on any scholar. This law remained in effect until 1954, when the authorization was extended to the University of Salamanca in commemoration of its septecentenary. In later years, that power was extended to all Spanish universities, ending the monopoly of the Central University over this distinction. This means that all holders of a Doctor degree in Spain can trace back their academic lineage to a Doctoral supervisor who was a member of Complutense's Faculty

Complutense University awarded Albert Einstein a Doctor of Science degree Honoris Causa on 28 February 1923. In his speech of acceptance, he declared:

So many are the honors and testimonies of warm sympathy that I have received during my visit to Madrid, that I can hardly find the words to express my gratitude. Because of this appointment as Doctor “Honoris Causa”, I feel as intimately related to your University, as those who in it began their studies of Science. You have dearly and profoundly penetrated in my work, with such success, that I need not adding anything on that regard. I’m confident that your University will educate researchers active in both categories, who will augment and deepen the extent of human knowledge.

This was the first Doctor of Science degree Honoris Causa that Albert Einstein accepted from a European University. In April 1933 the Minister for Education and the Arts, Fernando de los Ríos, announced that Einstein had agreed to take charge of an extraordinary professorship in a research institute, which would bear the name Instituto Albert Einstein, under the University's School of Science. However, as the political situation began to deteriorate throughout Europe, Prof. Einstein ended up accepting a similar position at Princeton University.