The first date is the admission date to The National College; the second is the date of death or resignation/expulsion.
Founders •
Alfonso Reyes, writer and diplomat •
Diego Rivera, painter and muralist •
José Vasconcelos, writer and philosopher •
José Clemente Orozco, painter and muralist •
Enrique González Martínez, poet and diplomat • , jurist •
Antonio Caso, philosopher •
Ignacio Chávez, cardiologist •
Isaac Ochoterena •
Manuel Uribe y Troncoso, ophthalmologist •
Carlos Chávez, composer •
Mariano Azuela, novelist of the
Mexican Revolution •
Manuel Sandoval Vallarta,
MIT cosmic ray physicist, former mentor of
Richard Feynman and
Julius Stratton. •
Alfonso Caso, archaeologist • , geologist
Members admitted in the 20th century • (22 November 1943; † 2 December 1946) Haemotology and cytology •
Manuel Toussaint (21 January 1946; † 2 December 1946) Art history and criticism •
Silvio Zavala (6 January 1947; † December 4, 2014) History •
Arturo Rosenblueth (6 October 1947; † 20 September 1970) Physiology •
Antonio Castro Leal (9 August 1948; † 7 January 1981) Humanities •
Jesús Silva Herzog (16 November 1948; † 13 March 1985) Economics •
Gerardo Murillo "Dr. Atl" (6 November 1950; resigned 7 May 1951) Painting •
Daniel Cosío Villegas (2 April 1951; † 10 March 1976) History •
Samuel Ramos (8 July 1952; † 20 June 1959) Philosophy •
Agustín Yáñez (8 July 1952; † 17 January 1980) Literature •
Guillermo Haro (6 July 1953; † 27 April 1988) Astronomy •
Jaime Torres Bodet (6 July 1953; † 15 May 1974) Poetry and literary criticism • (7 March 1955; † 19 January 1987) Preventive medicine •
Eduardo García Máynez (4 November 1957; † 2 September 1993) Philosophy of law •
José Adem (4 April 1960; † 14 February 1991) Mathematics •
José Villagrán García (4 April 1960; † 10 June 1982) Architecture • (7 October 1960; † 3 October 1994) Law and philosophy •
Victor L. Urquidi (18 October 1960; resigned 1 January 1968) Economics •
Octavio Paz (1 August 1967; † 19 April 1998) Poetry and literature, recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. •
Miguel León-Portilla (23 March 1971; † 1 October 2019) Ancient Mexican history •
Ignacio Bernal (4 April 1972; † 24 January 1992) Anthropology •
Rubén Bonifaz Nuño (4 April 1972; † 31 January 2013) Poetry and literature •
Antonio Carrillo Flores (4 April 1972; † 20 March 1987) Law •
Ramón de la Fuente (4 April 1972; † 31 March 2006) Psychiatrist; chaired the
National Academy of Medicine, served as vice-president of
World Psychiatric Association and founded the
Mexican Institute of Psychiatry. •
Carlos Fuentes (4 April 1972; † 15 May 2012) Novels and literature •
Alfonso García Robles (4 April 1972; † 2 September 1991) International law •
Marcos Moshinsky (4 April 1972; † 1 April 2009) Theoretical physicist; winner of the
UNESCO Science Prize. • (4 April 1972; † 14 May 1977) Applied chemistry •
Emilio Rosenblueth (4 April 1972; † 11 January 1994) Seismic engineering • (4 April 1972; † 31 May 1997) Philosophy •
Ramón Xirau (1 October 1973; † 26 July 2017) Philosophy • (23 October 1974; † 9 September 2015) Geophysics • (23 October 1974; † 6 October 1994) Microbiology •
Héctor Fix-Zamudio (23 October 1974; † 27 January 2021) Legal procedure and comparative law •
Jesús Kumate (23 October 1974; † 7 May 2018) Immunology • (23 October 1974; † 29 April 1996) Poetry and literature • (24 October 1975; † 17 March 1985) Gastroenterology • (13 October 1976; † 25 June 2021) Economics •
Leopoldo García-Colín (12 September 1977; † 8 October 2012) Physicist; winner of the 1988 National Prize for Arts and Sciences and former chair of the Mexican Society of Physics (1972–1973). •
Luis González y González (8 November 1978; † 13 December 2003) History of Mexico •
Luis Villoro (14 November 1978; † 5 March 2014) Philosophy •
Ruy Pérez Tamayo (27 November 1980; † 26 January 2022) Pathology •
Salvador Elizondo (28 April 1981; † 29 March 2006) Literature and literary criticism •
Antonio Alatorre (26 June 1981; † 21 October 2010) Philology •
Guillermo Soberón Acevedo (5 November 1981; † 12 October 2020) Biochemistry and higher education • ] (19 November 1981; † 22 November 2002) demographer; winner of the 1981 National Prize for Demography. • (11 November 1982; † 24 January 2013) Nuclear physics •
Eduardo Mata (9 August 1984; † 4 January 1995) Music •
Gabriel Zaid (26 September 1984) Poetry and literature •
Beatriz de la Fuente (7 May 1985; † 20 June 2005) Art history. First woman admitted to El Colegio Nacional • (6 June 1985) Pathology and cellular biology •
José Emilio Pacheco (9 October 1986; † 26 January 2014) Novels and literature •
Samuel Gitler Hammer (9 October 1986; † 9 September 2014) Mathematics •
José Sarukhán Kermez (26 June 1987) Biology •
Arcadio Poveda Ricalde (1 March 1989; † 24 March 2022) Astronomy •
Teodoro González de León (28 October 1989; † 16 September 2016) Architecture •
Rufino Tamayo (21 May 1991; † 24 June 1991) Painting •
Pablo Rudomín (25 February 1993) Physiology •
Manuel Peimbert (24 May 1993) Astronomy •
Eduardo Matos Moctezuma (24 June 1993) Archaeology • (9 November 1994; † 21 December 2004) Medicine •
Vicente Rojo (16 November 1994; † 17 March 2021) artist; recipient of the National Prize for Arts and Sciences. •
Francisco Bolívar Zapata (8 December 1994) Biotechnology •
Octavio Novaro (27 October 1995; † 6 March 2018) theoretical physicist; winner of the 1993
UNESCO Science Prize. •
Fernando del Paso (12 February 1996; † 14 November 2018) Literature •
Alejandro Rossi Guerrero (22 February 1996; † 5 June 2009) Philosophy •
Mario Lavista (14 October 1998; † 4 November 2021) Music • (24 February 2000) Radioastronomer
Members admitted in the 21st century •
Mario J. Molina (24 April 2003; † 7 October 2020), co-recipient of the 1995
Nobel Prize in Chemistry for elucidating the threat to the Earth's
ozone layer by
chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFCs). •
Enrique Krauze (27 April 2005), historian and cultural promoter, member of the board of
Instituto Cervantes and the Mexican Academy of History. • (13 February 2006), researcher on Physical chemistry, winner of the 1998 National Prize of Arts and Sciences. •
María Elena Medina-Mora Icaza (6 April 2006), researcher at the National Institute of Psychiatry, winner of the 1986 Gerardo Varela National Prize of Public Health. • (13 February 2007), former
Attorney General and researcher at the
National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). • (5 March 2007), linguist, member of
UNESCO's Permanent International Committee of Linguists. •
Linda Rosa Manzanilla (9 April 2007), archaeologist specialized in domestic archaeology in early urban developments, first Mexican woman ever admitted to the United States
National Academy of Sciences. • (9 March 2011), neuroscientist and researcher at the
National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). • (4 February 2014), geophysicist, president of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, and researcher at the
National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). •
José Ramón Cossío Díaz (11 February 2014), lawyer and jurist, member of the Supreme Court of the Nation. •
Juan Villoro, (24 February 2014), author. •
Antonio Lazcano (6 October 2014), biologist specialized in the origins of life. Professor at the
National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). •
Javier Garciadiego (February 25, 2016), historian. • (March 3, 2016), writer. • (31 March 2016), physicist and researcher at the
National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). • (February 23, 2017), linguist and philologist. • (24 March 2017), mathematician. •
Julio Frenk (24 may 2017), public health scholar. • (3 November 2017)), literary critic. •
Julia Carabias Lillo (27 August 2018), biologist and environmental conservationist. •
Susana Lizano (30 November 2018), astronomer. •
Leonardo López Luján (15 March 2019), archaeologist and director of the Templo Mayor Project (INAH). •
Claudio Lomnitz (5 March 2021), social anthropologist. •
Susana López Charretón (29 March 2021), virologist. • (26 April 2021), architect. •
Gabriela Ortiz (August 30, 2022), musician and composer. •
Carlos A. Coello Coello (5 May 2023), computer scientist. •
Cristina Rivera Garza (21 July 2023), writer. • (7 July 2025), endocrinologist and researcher. •
Alejandro González Iñárritu (2025), filmmaker.
Current members This list includes the 37 members as of 2026. • •
Francisco Bolívar Zapata •
Julia Carabias Lillo •
Carlos A. Coello Coello • •
José Ramón Cossío • • • •
Julio Frenk •
Javier Garciadiego • • •
Enrique Krauze •
Antonio Lazcano Araujo • • •
Susana Lizano •
Claudio Lomnitz •
Susana López Charretón •
Leonardo López Luján •
Linda Rosa Manzanilla • •
Eduardo Matos Moctezuma •
María Elena Medina-Mora •
Gabriela Ortiz •
Manuel Peimbert • •
Cristina Rivera Garza • • •
Pablo Rudomin •
José Sarukhán • • •
Juan Villoro •
Gabriel Zaid ==References==