Juan Manuel Fernández Pacheco, 8th Duke of Escalona
Juan Manuel Fernández Pacheco y Zúñiga, Duke of Escalona and Marquess of Villena, 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 and his second wife Juana María Francisca de Zuñiga. 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. Upon his release and return to Spain, he founded—under orders of King Philip V—the Royal Spanish Academy. He was elected its first lifetime director in 1713.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:
- Mercurio López Pacheco y Benavides,, the 9th Duke of Escalona and many other titles and also the lifetime 2nd director of the RAE.
- Marciano Fernández Pacheco
