Manuel Laborde was born in Tolosa on 29 December 1899 and died in San Sebastián 12 May 1993. He began his studies in his home town, continued at the Industrial School in Santander and in 1917 he entered the Technical College of Engineering of Bilbao. He obtained his Industrial Engineering Degree in 1923.

He began working at the CAF company where he was the technical director of the laboratory, foundry, steel ovens and lamination departments. Subsequently, in 1926, the Labordes created a family business in Andoain. Manuel was the company’s general director. The Laborde Brothers’ company headquarters in Andoain is a jewel of rationalist architecture and that is how the Basque Government’s Ministry of Culture has recognized it, cataloguing it as a monument along with San Sebastián’s Nautico. Later it belonged to the Board of Directors of a hard metal company and another machine-tool company situated in Villabona.

Manuel was one of the first members of "Amigos de Aralar", beginning in 1927. He was one of the founders of the ARANZADI Scientific Association in 1947. He had a good relationship with the first president of Aranzadi, Tomas Atauri, and the First Secretary, Jesús Elósegui, and he collaborated with them in many research jobs.

In 1952 he had a decisive intervention, along with Jesús Elósegui from ARANZADI and Ziriquiain-Gaiztarro from Amigos del Pais, to achieve Jose Miguel Barandiarán's return to the Basque Country after his stay in Sara. He maintained a close relationship with Barandiarán and Manuel Lekuona.

In 1963 Manuel was named a member of the executive commission at the Department of Nuclear Technology of the Industrial Engineers of the Technical College of Engineering of Bilbao. Since 1969 he was a member of the Instituto LUCAS MALLADA’s Technical Council for geological research. He had also been a member of the Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País.

He had published many articles about geology, the mining industry, metallurgy and prehistory in ARANZADI’s the “MUNIBE”, in the RSBAP’s “Bulletin” and other magazines. The discovery in Gipuzkoa of two dolmens, fourteen stelas and the prehistoric cave of MARIZULO are all owed to him. Manuel worked on the research of the ARANZADI excavations along with Jesus Altuna, Tomas Atauri, Jose Miguel Barandiarán and Jesús Elósegui. He took part in a lot of research done by Barandiarán and Altuna between 1960 and 1975, and in addition to participating he aided them. During those difficult years, in addition to offering moral support, he also provided monetary support to carry out some of the research.

He was a lover of nature, agriculture, stamp collecting, iconography, painting and graphic arts. He made a vital contribution to Pío Caro Baroja’s excellent documentary, "Guipúzcoa".

He had been President of the Department of Physical Sciences, Chemistry and Mathematics at Eusko Ikaskuntza from 1978 to 1980. In 1984 the Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País paid tribute to him at the Palacio Insausti of Azkoitia. In 1988 he was awarded the "Manuel Lekuona" award by Eusko Ikaskuntza at the Provincial Council.

In the words of Juan Antonio Garmendia Elósegui, Manuel was a good, generous, cordial, honest, helpful and chivalrous man. A man through-and-through.