Manuel García (born June 4, 1805, Madrid, Spain; died July 1, 1906, London, England) was a Spanish baritone, music educator, and vocal researcher. He is best known for inventing the laryngoscope in 1854, a device crucial for the development of modern laryngology.
While often identified primarily as a scientist, García was first and foremost a skilled singer and teacher. He came from a distinguished musical family. His father, Manuel del Popolo Vicente García (1775–1832), was a renowned tenor, composer, and singing teacher, and his sisters were the celebrated opera singers Maria Malibran and Pauline Viardot.
García initially pursued a career as an opera singer, making his debut in 1825. However, he found greater success and fulfillment as a vocal pedagogue. He taught at the Paris Conservatoire and later established a highly influential private singing school in London. His teaching method, rooted in scientific understanding of the vocal mechanism, emphasized breath control, vocal placement, and the development of resonance. He numbered among his pupils some of the most important singers of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
García's scientific curiosity led him to study the physiology of the larynx. In 1854, using a dental mirror and sunlight, he became the first person to observe the functioning of his own vocal cords while singing. He presented his invention and findings to the Royal Society of London in 1855, revolutionizing the understanding and treatment of vocal disorders.
His publications include École de García: Traité complet de l’art du chant (1840), a comprehensive treatise on singing technique that remains influential, and Hints on Singing (1894). Manuel García's contributions to both vocal pedagogy and the field of laryngology cemented his legacy as a pivotal figure in the history of music and medicine.