Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
Leonardo Torres Quevedo
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Related Questions
Read Next
The Prado Museum facade at the Diego Velaszquez memorial. Established in 1819, the museum is considered the best collection of Spanish art and one of the world's finest collections of European art. Madrid, Spain
7 Buildings You Ought to Visit in Madrid
Grade school students working at computers in a school library. Study learn girl child class technology
The Future of Information and Education
Blackboard inscribed with scientific formulas and calculations in physics and mathematics
The World Science Festival’s Pioneers in Science
Motion Abstract background binary code ,futuristic Design Abstract Wave line Infinite Loop for Business science and Technology, articiial intelligence, algorithm
Pro and Con: Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory glassware (beakers)
5 Quizzes That Will Tell You Whether You Should Have Been a Scientist
Discover
Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 9th Mechanized Division learning to operate and maintain M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks at Besmaya Combat Training Center, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011. Military training. Iraq war. U.S. Army
8 Deadliest Wars of the 21st Century
Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that
America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.
10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci
Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.
Why Is Ireland Two Countries?
A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England
Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution
Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics
10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time
Thanksgiving Turkey with all the sides
Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?

Leonardo Torres Quevedo

Spanish engineer
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Also known as: Leonardo Torres y Quevado
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
Quick Facts
Born:
Dec. 28, 1852, Santa Cruz, Spain
Died:
Dec. 18, 1936, Madrid (aged 83)
Also Known As:
Leonardo Torres y Quevado

Leonardo Torres Quevedo (born Dec. 28, 1852, Santa Cruz, Spain—died Dec. 18, 1936, Madrid) was a Spanish engineer. In 1890, he introduced an electromagnetic device capable of playing a limited form of chess. Though it did not always play the best moves and sometimes took much longer than a competent human player to win, it demonstrated the capability of machines to be programmed to follow specified rules (heuristics) and marked the beginnings of research into the development of artificial intelligence.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.