Juan Manuel Fernández Pacheco, 8th Duke of Escalona explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Most Excellent
The Duke of Escalona
Honorific-Suffix:GE
Office:Seat A of the Royal Spanish Academy
Term Start:6 July 1713
Term End:29 June 1725
Predecessor:Seat established
Successor:Tomás Pascual de Azpeitia
Office2:Director of the Royal Spanish Academy
Term Start2:6 July 1713
Term End2:29 June 1725
Predecessor2:Position established
Successor2:Mercurio López Pacheco
Birth Name:Juan Manuel María de la Aurora Fernández Pacheco Acuña Girón y Portocarrero
Birth Date:7 September 1650
Birth Place:Marcilla (Navarre), Spain
Death Place:Madrid, Spain
Children:
Parents:

Juan Manuel Fernández Pacheco y Zúñiga, Duke of Escalona and Marquess of Villena (Marcilla, Navarre, 7 September 1650  - Madrid, 29 June 1725), was a Spanish aristocrat, politician, and academician who founded the Royal Spanish Academy.

Biography

Duke Juan Manuel Fernández, Duke of Escalona, Marquess of Villena, 12th Count of San Esteban de Gormaz, 8th Count of Xiquena was the son of Diego López Pacheco, 7th Duke of Escalona (1599–1653) and his second wife Juana María Francisca de Zuñiga (died 1652).[1] He served as Mayordomo mayor to the king, viceroy, and captain-general of the Kingdoms of Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia, Sicily and Naples, and, on 9 October 1687, was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.In 1694 he lost the Battle of Torroella against the invading French and, during the War of the Spanish Succession, was imprisoned in Gaeta, Naples, by the Austrian empire, after losing the Siege of Gaeta (1707). Upon his release and return to Spain, he founded—under orders of King Philip V—the Royal Spanish Academy ((RAE)). He was elected its first lifetime director in 1713.[2]

Marriage and children

on 29 September 1674 he married María Josefa de Benavides Silva y Manrique de Lara, daughter of Diego de Benavides, 8th Count of Santisteban. They had 2 sons:

References

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Marqueses de Villena (Segovia), Portal Fuenterrebollo.
  2. CIUDAD RUIZ, Manuel (2000): «El maestrazgo de Don Rodrigo Téllez Girón», en En la España Medieval, nº 23. 0214-3038, pp. 321–365