Agustín de Betancourt 1758-1824. Founder of the School of Civil Engineering. Cosmopolitan engineer

Spanish engineer Agustín de Betancourt died in Saint Petersburg on 26 July 1824. On the two-hundredth anniversary of his death, this exhibition showcases the legacy of one of the leading engineers and technicians of the Enlightenment.

Born in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Betancourt travelled widely throughout his career. From La Laguna he moved to Madrid, making several trips to Paris and England, where he spent long periods. He even planned a voyage to Cuba, which eventually fell through. He spent the last years of his life in Russia. The exhibition shows how, wherever he went, Betancourt did extraordinary civil engineering work that won him the recognition of prominent political and scientific authorities of the Age of Reason. Exhibition visitors can see his work for kings and ministers; his relationships with technical experts and entrepreneurs from different countries; how he studied new machines and invented many more; how he founded the first schools of engineering in Spain and Russia; and his untiring involvement in the education of a fresh generation of technicians. His decisive role in the creation of a new body of professionals, civil engineers, who would later become very important, is a defining facet of the exhibition.

Travel, books, inventions, plans and projects are all part of Betancourt’s decisive contributions to civil engineering and its position in Enlightenment Europe. Agustín Betancourt’s exceptional career throws light on the new paths that were just opening for communications and supply infrastructure, the mechanisms that enabled such innovations to spread the length and breadth of the continent and the horizons that they sought.

Curator

Daniel Crespo Delgado

Exhibit design

Bernardo Revuelta Pol

Coordinator:
Begoña Sánchez-Aparicio (Fundación Juanelo Turriano)
Área de Exposiciones de la Biblioteca Nacional de España

Organized by: National Library of Spain, Regional Government of the Canary Islands, Puerto de la Cruz City Council, Technical University of Madrid, Chartered Institute of Civil Engineers, Centre for Public Works Studies and Experimentation, Fundación Juanelo Turriano

Opening hours:

Monday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Sundays and holidays, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Admission up to 30 minutes before closing
Admission free of charge.
Visitor capacity is limited.
No reservations required for individual members of the public.
Groups of 5 or more, with or without their own guide, must make an appointment.

How to get there