Editing Leonardo Torres Quevedo (section)

== Distinctions ==
[[File:Echegaray_y_Torres_Quevedo_1916.jpg|right|thumb|Torres receiving the Echegaray Medal at the [[Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences]] in 1916.]]
Over the years, Torres received an increasing number of decorations, prizes, and societal memberships, both Spanish and from other countries. In 1901, he entered the [[Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences]] in Madrid for his work carried out in these years about algebraic machines,<ref>{{cite web|title=Miembros de la Academia. Excelentísimo Señor Don Leonardo Torres Quevedo|author=Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de España|url=https://rac.es/sobre-nosotros/miembros/academicos-historicos/numerarios/216/|access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref> an entity of which he was its president between 1928 and 1934.<ref>{{cite web|title=Galería de Presidentes|author=Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de España|url=https://rac.es/sobre-nosotros/miembros/galeria-presidentes/|access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref><ref>[https://rac.es/ficheros/doc/00186.pdf Relación de Académicos desde el año 1847 hasta el 2003], p. 107, Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 2003.</ref>  In 1916 King [[Alfonso XIII of Spain]] bestowed the [[Echegaray Medal]] upon him;<ref>{{cite journal|number=877|journal=Madrid Científico|title=Un Premio Y Un Homenaje|url=https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/viewer?oid=0001985292|year=1916|access-date=27 August 2024}}</ref> and in 1918, he declined the offer of the position of [[Ministry of Development (Spain)|Minister of Development]]. In 1920, he was admitted to the [[Royal Spanish Academy|Real Academia Española]], to fill the seat ''N'' vacated by the death of [[Benito Pérez Galdós]]. In his acceptance speech he said in a humble and funny way:

{{blockquote|"You were wrong in choosing me as I do not have that minimum culture required of an academic. I will always be a stranger in your wise and learned society. I come from very remote lands. I have not cultivated literature, nor art, nor philosophy, nor even science, at least in its higher degrees… My work is much more modest. I spend my busy life solving practical mechanics problems. My laboratory is a locksmith shop, more complete, better assembled than those usually known by that name; but destined, like all, to project and build mechanisms…"<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.rae.es/academico/leonardo-torres-quevedo|title = Leonardo Torres Quevedo|publisher = [[Royal Spanish Academy]] |date = |language= es|access-date = 18 June 2023 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.rae.es/sites/default/files/Discurso_de_ingreso_Leonardo_Torres_Quevedo.pdf Discursos / Leídos ante la Real Academia Española en la Recepción Pública de Don Leonardo Torres y Quevedo, (pdf)], p. 7, Real Academia Española, 31 October 1920.</ref>}}

[[File:Torres_quevedo_recepcion_rac_1.jpg |right|thumb|Torres' admission ceremony at the [[Royal Spanish Academy|Real Academia Española]]. He took office with the speech titled "The project of the Hispano-American International Union of Scientific Bibliography and Technology.", 31 October 1920.]]

That same year Torres was elected President of the [[Spanish Royal Physics Society]] and the [[Royal Spanish Mathematical Society]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Presidentes de la RSEF|author=Real Sociedad Española de Física|url=https://rsef.es/rsef-informacion-general/informacion-institucional/itemlist/category/44-presidentes|access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Histórico de presidentes/as|author=Real Sociedad Matemática Española|date=10 June 2020 |url=https://www.rsme.es/la-sociedad/quienes-somos/historia/historico-de-presidentes/|access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref> the latter position he held until 1924, and became a member of the Mechanics Section of the Paris Academy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Torres Quevedo, Leonardo|author=Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques. Institut rattaché à l’École nationale des chartes|url=https://cths.fr/an/savant.php?id=117592#|access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref> In 1921 he was appointed President of the International Spanish-American Union of Scientific Bibliography and Technology. From 1921 to 1928 he assumed the presidency of the Spanish section of the [[General Conference on Weights and Measures#CIPM|International Committee for Weights and Measures]], where due to his experience in development of instruments, contributed to the improvement of measurements made in the laboratories of the [[International Bureau of Weights and Measures]] (BIPM).<ref>''[https://www.cem.es/sites/default/files/2022-12/Personajes%20espan%CC%83oles%20relevantes%20en%20el%20campo%20de%20la%20metrologi%CC%81a.pdf Personajes españoles relevantes en el campo de la metrología],''(pdf) pp. 45–49, Centro Español de Metrología, 2022.</ref> In 1923 he became an Honorary Academician of the {{Interlanguage link|Geneva Society of Physics and Natural History|fr|Société_de_physique_et_d%27histoire_naturelle_de_Genève}}.<ref>[https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=ads-001%3A1931%3A13%3A%3A566 Liste des membres], p. 3, Compte Rendu des Séances de la Societe de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève, Vol. 48, N° 1., Janvier–Mars, 1931.</ref> In 1925 he was promoted to Corresponding Member of the [[Hispanic Society of America]]. In 1926 he became Honorary Inspector General of the ''Corps of Civil Engineers''. On 27 June 1927 he was named one of the twelve foreign associate academicians of the [[French Academy of Sciences]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Les membres du passé dont le nom commence par T|author=Académie des Sciences. Institut de France|url=https://www.academie-sciences.fr/fr/Liste-des-membres-depuis-la-creation-de-l-Academie-des-sciences/les-membres-du-passe-dont-le-nom-commence-par-t.html|access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref> with 34 votes in favor for his entry, surpassing [[Ernest Rutherford]] (4 votes) and [[Santiago Ramón y Cajal]] (2 votes).<ref>{{cite web|title=Leonardo Torres Quevedo y sus prodigiosos inventos|date=2016-12-18|author=[[La Vanguardia]]|url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/hemeroteca/20161215/412637730384/leonardo-torres-quevedo-inventores.html|access-date=13 July 2024}}</ref>

His accolades also include:<ref>Rafael López-García. Marco Ceccarelli. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dBvHEAAAQBAJ&dq=leonardo+torres+quevedo+innovator&pg=PA321 Distinguished Figures in Mechanical Engineering in Spain and Ibero-America.], Springer Nature, pp. 321–322, 2023. ISBN 978-3031310751</ref>

* Grand Cross of the [[Civil Order of Alfonso XII]] (1906)
* Parville Prize of the French Academy of Sciences (1916)
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Charles III]] (1921)
* Grand Cross of the [[Military Order of Saint James of the Sword]] (1921)
* Commander of the [[Legion of Honour]] (1922)
* Honorary doctorate of the [[University of Paris]] (1923)
* Honorary doctorate of the [[University of Coimbra]] (1925)
* Grand-Cross Band of the [[Order of the Spanish Republic]] (1934)