Prensa popular, ciencia e historia: el caso de Rodríguez Delgado en España

espanolEste trabajo estudia las noticias que la prensa espanola dedico al famoso neurofisiologo espanol Jose Manuel Rodriguez Delgado (1915-2011), entre 1943 y 2011. Con tal fin, se analizan los periodicos que gozaron durante ese periodo de un mayor numero de lectores, prestando especial atencion a los diarios ABC y La Vanguardia. La presencia de Delgado en la prensa espanola contribuyo, desde muy pronto, a construir una imagen enormemente positiva del investigador afincado en Yale, y fomentaron su popularidad extraordinariamente durante los anos previos a su retorno a Espana. Particularmente significativo resulta el incremento de sus apariciones entre 1970 y 1975, periodo clave en el que su trabajo se desarrollaba entre Espana y los EE.UU., y en el que las autoridades del agonizante regimen de Franco parecian decididas a recuperar a tan valioso cientifico. Tomando a Delgado como ejemplo, en este articulo se reflexiona sobre como los medios de comunicacion de masas pueden intervenir en el curso de la propia historia de la ciencia y se pretende advertir acerca de los multiples factores, no solo intelectuales, que participan en la construccion de cualquier trama historica. EnglishThis paper studies the news published by the Spanish press between 1943 and 2011, in relation to the famous Spanish neurophysiologist Jose Manuel Rodriguez Delgado (1915-2011). We analyze the newspapers with the highest readership at that moment, paying specific attention to daily ABC and La Vanguardia. The presence of Delgado in the Spanish press contributed, from an early stage, to the construction of an enormously positive image of the researcher, based in Yale at that time, and promoted his popularity extraordinarily during the years prior to his return to Spain. The period between 1970 and 1975 saw a significant increase of Delgado’s appearances in the press, a key time in which his work developed between Spain and USA, and in which the authorities of the agonizing regime of Franco seemed determined to recover such a worthy scientist. The history of science is not only the product of intellectual activity, but also a result of many other factors, popular press being one of them. In our opinion, to see how these factors truly influence the history of science, Delgado could be a perfect example