Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires

Coordinates: 34°36′40″S 58°22′26″W / 34.611°S 58.374°W / -34.611; -58.374
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The new Art Nouveau building was designed by Norbert Auguste Maillart. Its 1910 cornerstone laying medal shows Minerva on the obverse.

Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires
Address
Map
Bolívar 263


Coordinates34°36′40″S 58°22′26″W / 34.611°S 58.374°W / -34.611; -58.374
Information
TypePublic secondary
Established1863
FounderBartolomé Mitre
RectorLic. Valeria Bergman
GenderCoeducational
Enrollment2017[1]
Colour(s)Blue and white    
AthleticsSoccer, field hockey, swimming, handball, track and field, basketball, gymnastics, judo, rugby, volleyball, Fencing
NicknameEl Colegio, El Nacional
AffiliationUniversity of Buenos Aires
Former namesColegio Grande de San Carlos, Real Colegio de San Carlos, Real Convictorio Carolino, Colegio Nacional
Notable alumniManuel Belgrano, Bernardo Houssay, Carlos Saavedra Lamas, José Luis Murature, Lalo Schiffrin
Websitehttp://www.cnba.uba.ar
The reverse of this medal by Dr Jorge Maria Lubary commemorating president Alcorta and education minister Naón

Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires (National School of Buenos Aires) is a public high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, affiliated to the University of Buenos Aires. In the tradition of the European gymnasium it provides a free education that includes classical languages such as Latin and Greek. The school is one of the most prestigious in Latin America. Its alumni include many personalities, including two Nobel laureates and four Presidents of Argentina.

History[edit]

Its origins date to 1661, when it was known as Colegio Grande de San Carlos, when the colonial government entrusted the Jesuit Order with the education of the youth. After the Papal suppression of the Jesuits from Spanish Empire-controlled South America in 1767, the institution languished until 1772, when governor Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo reopened the school as the Real Colegio de San Carlos. Vértiz, already appointed Viceroy of the Río de la Plata, renamed the school Real Convictorio Carolino in 1783, a name that endured until 1806. Thereafter, the school changed its name and program several times.[2]

President Bartolomé Mitre redesignated the institution as the Colegio Nacional in 1863, and since 1911 the school has been administered by the University of Buenos Aires. Originally only for men, the school has admitted female students since 1957.[2]

Nowadays, students from the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires rank among the best in most science Olympiads, such as the IPhO, IChO and IBO.[2]

Alumni[edit]

Alumni include many of Argentina's founding fathers, Presidents, members of political parties of all ideologies, internationally recognized scientists, artists, and two Nobel laureates. A partial list includes:

Nobel laureates[edit]

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Carlos Saavedra Lamas (1878-1959) 1896 politician; jurist; diplomat; Nobel Peace Prize winner (1936)
Bernardo Houssay (1887-1971) 1900 physiologist; first Director of CONICET; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine winner (1947) [3]

Politicians and jurists[edit]

Heads of State[edit]

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Cornelio Saavedra (1759-1829) 1776 military officer; President of the Primera Junta
Juan José Paso (1758-1833) 1776 lawyer; politician; Secretary of the Primera Junta; member of the Junta Grande; member of the First Triumvirate; member of the Second Triumvirate; Representative to the Congress of Tucumán
Feliciano Antonio Chiclana (1761-1826) 1779 lawyer; military officer; judge; member of the First Triumvirate
Hipólito Vieytes (1762-1815) 1780 businessman; military officer; politician; Secretary of the Junta Grande
Manuel Alberti (1763-1811) 1781 priest; member of the Primera Junta
Juan José Castelli (1764-1812) 1782 lawyer; politician; member of the Primera Junta
Manuel Belgrano (1770-1820) 1788 economist; lawyer; politician; journalist; military officer; member of the Primera Junta; creator of the Flag of Argentina
Antonio González Balcarce (1774-1819) 1791 military commander; 5th Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
Nicolás Rodríguez Peña (1775-1853) 1793 politician; member of the Second Triumvirate
Juan Martín de Pueyrredón (1777-1850) 1795 general; politician; member of the First Triumvirate; 6th Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata.
Mariano Moreno (1778-1811) 1796 lawyer; journalist; politician; Secretary of the Primera Junta
Bernardino Rivadavia (1780-1845) 1798 politician; first President of Argentina (1826-1827)
Vicente López y Planes (1785-1856) 1803 writer; lawyer; politician; 2nd President of Argentina; 18th Governor of Buenos Aires; representative to the Assembly of Year XIII; author of the lyrics of the Argentine National Anthem
Justo José de Urquiza (1801-1870) 1818 general; politician; President of Argentina (1854-1860), Provisional Director of the Argentine Confederation (1852-1854); Governor of Entre Ríos Province (1842-1852, 1860-1854, 1868-1870); Governor of Buenos Aires (1852)
Marcos Paz (1813-1868) 1831 lawyer; politician; Governor of Tucumán; Governor of Córdoba; member of the Argentine Senate; Vice President of Argentina (1862-1868)
Juan Bautista Egusquiza (1845-1902) 1863 military officer; politician; 13th President of Paraguay (1894-1898)
Carlos Pellegrini (1846-1906) 1864 lawyer; journalist; politician; Vice President of Argentina (1886-1890); President of Argentina (1890-1892)
Roque Sáenz Peña (1851-1914) 1869 military officer; lawyer; politician; President of Argentina (1910-1914)
Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear (1868-1942) 1886 lawyer; politician; President of Argentina (1922-1928)
Agustín Pedro Justo (1876-1943) 1894 military officer; lawyer; diplomat; politician; President of Argentina (1932-1938)
Carlos Alberto Lacoste (1929-2004) 1944 navy vice-admiral; politician; responsible for organizing the 1978 FIFA World Cup hosted in Argentina; interim President of Argentina (1981) as member of the National Reorganization Process military junta

Other[edit]

Facilities[edit]

Library of the Colegio Nacional

The school offers an astronomy observatory, a swimming pool, a cinema, a sports campus with football, rugby, handball, volleyball, hockey and basketball courts. Free classes are available such as astronomy, photography, languages, sailing, tango, theater, history of cinema, Yoga, piano, chess, band production and martial arts.[4] The sailing team has won many of the local competitions. It also has a choir, which sings in the most important school events.

Enrollment[edit]

In accordance with the meritocratic conception of the school, admission is highly competitive. It involves ten exams after a year-long course, testing in language, mathematics, geography, and history.[5] Every year 1,200 candidates apply but only around 400 gain admission. There are about 2,000 students enrolled, who pay no fees since the school is public and therefore free.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Universidad de Buenos Aires, Censo de Estudiantes Secundarios 2004
  2. ^ a b c "Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires" (in Spanish). University of Buenos Aires. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  3. ^ Alicia Méndez (2013). El Colegio. La formación de una élite meritocrática en el Nacional Buenos Aires. Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Argentina. ISBN 9789500741194.
  4. ^ "Talleres | Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires". Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  5. ^ "Descripción del Curso" [Description of the Course]. Curso de Ingreso para los Establecimientos de Enseñanza Media de la UBA (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 November 2013.