February 8

February 9, 2024 - Reading time: 13 minutes

Saint’s Day for Esteban, Juan de Mata, Honorato and Emiliano.

1538 - In Rome the Holy League between Spain, the Vatican and Venice is formed to fight the Turks.
1586 - In Madrid opens Hospital General.
1817 - Las Heras crosses the Andes with an army to join San Martín and liberate Chile from Spain.
1910 - In Vigo a fire destroys the Rosalia de Castro theater.
1931 - Athletic Club gets the biggest win in the history of the Spanish league against Barcelona F.C 12-1.
1934 - during the Second Spanish Republic, the Government ordered the general disarmament of the Spanish civilian population

Málaga refugies walking towards Almería - photo www.memoriahistoricamalaga.org

1937 - Málaga falls to Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. The tens of thousands who fled the city walking along the coast road to Almería were bombarded by air and sea as they tried to escape with their lives. It is estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 people died on ‘La Caravana de la Muerte.’

1937 - Republican forces establish the Interprovincial Council of Santander, Palencia and Burgos in Cantabria
1939 - arrived in Paris, fled Spain, Lluís Companys, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia.
1981 - in Mallorca, Congress elects UCD Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo candidate for president of the Government and Agustin Rodriguez Sahagun party chairman.
1994 - the UGT executive resolved to propose to Colin Campbell as a substitute for Redondo.
2002 - the Council of Ministers of Government approves the Bill of Services of the Information Society and Electronic Commerce (LSSI).
2003 - in Andoain (Guipúzcoa), ETA kills Joseba Pagazaurtundua, head of the local police and a member of the Socialist Group.

Births

1434 - Pere Miquel Carbonell was a Catalan historian, humanist, notary, calligrapher, poet and writer. (d. 1517)

1554 - Venerable Marina de Escobar was a nun, and foundress of a modified branch of the Brigittine Order. (d. 1633)

1706 - Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova, He is best known for his command of the Spanish fleet during the Anglo-Spanish War. His best remembered actions were the capture of two British convoys totalling 79 ships between 1780 and 1782, including the capture of 55 ships from a convoy composed of Indiamen, and other cargo ships 60 leagues off Cape St. Vincent. (d. 1796)

1813 - Vice Admiral José Manuel de Pareja y Septien was a Spanish naval officer, who commanded the Spanish forces during the Chincha Islands War (1864-1866). (d. 1865)

1827 - Romualdo Palacios González, (born in Málaga) general and governor of Puerto Rico in 1887. He is best remembered for his political persecution of Puerto Rican Autonomistas called Componte, a term than means "to rectify" or "to pacify".(d, 1908)

1828 - Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Spanish Prime Minister, his role in supporting the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy to the Spanish throne and for his death at the hands of an anarchist, Michele Angiolillo. (d. 1897)

1835 - Eduardo María González-Pondal Abente, was a Galician poet, who wrote in both Galician and Spanish. Of Hidalgo origin, Pondal was the youngest of a family of seven. (d. 1917)

1856 - José Jurado de la Parra was a Spanish journalist, poet and playwright. (d. 1943)

1882 - Pedro de Répide Gallegos was a Madrid-based writer and journalist. (d. 1947)

1890 - Anita Delgado Briones was a Spanish flamenco dancer and singer from Málaga who achieved fame for having married the Indian Maharaja of Kapurthala, thus becoming a Maharani of Kapurthala. (d. 1962)
1905 - Lahuerta Genaro Lopez, Spanish painter and portraitist (d.1985).
1906 - Pablo Palitos, Argentinean actor of Spanish origin(d. 1989).
1908 - Rafael Lapesa, teacher, writer and academic, philologist, a historian of language and of Spanish literature. (d.2001)

Enrique Tierno Galván - Photo https://www.biografiasyvidas.com/

1918 - Enrique Tierno Galván, politician, professor, lawyer and essayist, best known for being the Mayor of Madrid from 1979 to 1986, at the beginning of the new period of Spanish democracy.(d. 1986).

1922 - Manuel Oltra, secular and sacred music composer, and professor (Barcelona Conservatory, 1959-87) born in Valencia (d. 2015)
1930 - Manuel Castillo, Adalucía classical pianist and composer, born in Sevilla (d. 2005).
1935 - Luis María Anson was born in Madrid. He has headed the EFE news agency and ABC newspaper during his career, and founded La Razón newspaper.

1941 - Elena Fernández Gómez, known by the pen name Elena Santiago, is a Spanish writer, the recipient of honors such as the Rosa Chacel Award, the 1999 Province of Valladolid Literary Prize, and the Castile and León Award for Letters.
1952 - Consuelo Mariño, writer.
1959 - Ricardo Gallego, footballer.
1962 - Manolo Hierro, footballer.
1965 - Miguel Pardeza, footballer.

1974 - Inés Medina-Fernández is a pianist and composer of contemporary classical music. An experienced pianist and self-taught composer, her compositions draw upon many influences - from Baroque to John Cage, to film and documentary music
1983 - Gala Évora, actress.
1987 - Javi García, footballer

Deaths
1911 - Joaquín Costa, politician (b. 1846).

1929 - Maria Cristina of Austria, Austrian born Queen and Regent of Spain, dies aged 71

1979 - Antonio Aranda Mata, solider (b. 1888).
1980 - Agustín Millares Carlo, paleography and academic (b. 1893)
1999 - Luis Sánchez Polack, "Tip", comic (b. 1926).
2003 - Joseba Pagazaurtundua, policeman (b. 1957).
2005 - Javier Tusell, historian and politician (b. 1945).
2012 - Godofredo Garabito, writer, academic and politician (b. 1932.)

2022 - Javier Berasaluce, footballer (Deportivo Alavés, Racing de Santander; Real Madrid) (b. 1933)