January 6

March 19, 2024 - Reading time: 15 minutes

Saint’s Day for Melano. El Día de los Reyes – the Day of the Three Kings, a national holiday in Spain.

1119 - Alfonso I el Batallador (King of Aragon), conquered Zaragoza
1233 - Fernando III of Castilla initiates the site of the city of Úbeda that culminates with its capitulation.
1416 - King Ferdinand I of Aragon abandons obedience to the Avignon popes.
1492 - The Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella enter Granada, after the surrendering of Boabdil completing the Reconquista.

1494, Christopher Columbus officially founded “La Isabela,” the first European settlement to be built in the New World - Graphic www.accessdr.com

1494 - Spanish settlers celebrate mass for the first time in the New World in the church in La Isabela, in what is now the Dominican Republic. It is considered the first formal European settlement of the New World.

1503 - On the Caribbean coast of Veraguas (now Panama) Christopher Columbus founded what would have been the first Spanish settlement in the American continent: the village of Santa María de Belén. On April 6 it would be destroyed by the natives
1542 - The city of Mérida is founded by the conquistador Francisco de Montejo. It is now the state capital of Yucatán in Mexico.
1782 - The city of Mahón (Menorca), in the power of the British, capitulates after seven months of siege by Spanish-French troops.
1809 - In the town of Fontioso (Spain), cura Merino (Jerónimo Merino Cob) begins his activity as a guerrilla attacking an postman and his escort.
1848 - General Serrano disembarks on the Islas Chafarinas, an archipelago of three small islets 4 kms of the coast of Morocco, and takes them for Spain. They are now protected by Spain as a National Reserve.
1875 - Alfonso XII heading out of Paris to Madrid to occupy the throne of Spain.
1937 - the United States passes an arms embargo on both sides in the Spanish Civil War.
1939 - In Spain the latest issue of the weekly L'Esquella of Torratxa is published.
1945 - Writer Carmen Laforet receives the first Nadal Prize for his novel 'Nothing'.
1947 - In Santa Cruz de Tenerife arrived the remains of the composer Manuel de Falla, who died in Alta Gracia (Argentina).
1947 - Miguel Delibes receives the Premio Nadal
2000 – Celia, the last Pyrenean ibex was found dead after a tree had landed on her.

2018 - Felipe VI – 76.2% of the Spanish approve of the ‘good King’. Don Felipe converted the military day into a homage for his father Don Juan Carlos ‘Thank you for your years of loyal service’

Births

Juan de Ávila - Apostle of Andalucía - https://www.religiondigital.org/

1500 - Juan de Ávila, was priest, preacher, scholastic author, and religious mystic, who has been declared a saint and Doctor of the Church by the Catholic Church. He is called the 'Apostle of Andalucía' for his extensive ministry in that region (d. 1569)

1509 - Melchor Cano, Catholic priest, university teacher, philosopher, full professor, dominican friar (d.30-Sep-1560)

1582 - Alonso de Contreras sailor (captain of a frigate), soldier (captain of infantry and then of cavalry), privateer, adventurer and writer, best known as the author of his autobiography; one of the very few autobiographies of Spanish soldiers under the Spanish Habsburgs and possibly one of the finest, together with the True History of the Conquest of New Spain (Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva España) by Bernal Diaz del Castillo. (d. 01-Jan-1641)
1587 - Gaspar de Guzmán, known as the Count of Olivares, Premier of Spain (1621-43) born in Rome (d. 1645)
1634 - Hugo de Omerique, scientist.

1685 - Manuel de Montiano Spanish General and colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of La Florida during Florida's First Spanish Period and as Royal Governor of Panama.He defended Florida from an attack by British forces in 1740 and launched his own unsuccessful Invasion of Georgia during the War of Jenkins' Ear. (d. 06-Jan-1762)
1702 - José Melchor de Nebra Blasco, composer born in Calatayud (d. 1768)

By unknown artist - Public Domain

1756 - Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, naval officer born in Cartagena. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against Napoleon's invasion in 1808. He was later appointed Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, replacing Santiago de Liniers. He disestablished the government Junta of Javier de Elío and quelled the Chuquisaca Revolution and the La Paz revolution. An open cabildo deposed him as viceroy during the May Revolution, but he attempted to be the president of the new government junta, thus retaining power.The popular unrest in Buenos Aires did not allow that, so he resigned. He was banished back to Spain shortly after that, and died in 1829.
1791 - José Melchor Gomis, composer, born in Ontinyent (d. 1836)

Portrait of Dr Simarro at the microscope

1851 - Luis Simarro Lacabra, psychiatrist who was born in Rome while his parents were living in Italy. He studied medicine in Valencia and Madrid, and in 1877 was appointed director of the Santa Isabel insane asylum at Leganés, outside of Madrid. From 1880 he lived in Paris and studied general anatomy and histology with Louis-Antoine Ranvier and clinical neurology under Jean Martin Charcot. n 1885 he returned to Madrid and opened a private practice, and in 1902 was appointed to the first chair of experimental psychology in Spain. As a psychiatrist, Simarro was heavily influenced by developments in Germany, particularly Emil Kraepelin's classification and treatment of the insane, Wilhelm Wundt's theory of experimental psychology and Theodor Ziehen's critical analysis of Wundt's approach to psychology. (d. 19-Jun-1921)
1873 - Joaquín Mir, painter. He lived through a turbulent time in the history of his native Barcelona. His paintings helped to define the Catalan art movement known as modernisme.(d. 27-Apr-1940)
1878 - Nicanor Piñole, painter.
1912 - Celso Emilio Ferreiro, poet.
1916 - Mario Cabré, bullfighter
1923 - Santiago Grisolía, biochemist.
1925 - Alfonso Grosso, writer.
1926 - Kid Gavilán, Cuban boxer, born in Berrocal (d. 2003)
1931 - Juan Goytisolo, poet and author.
1933 - Justo Tejada, footballer.
1935 - Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria, born in Madrid
1936 - Antonio López García, painter.

1942 - Benito Lertxundi, He is an acclaimed and veteran figure in Basque music, who spearheaded with other key figures its revival in the 1960s and following years, showing a special commitment to Basque culture and matters in general.
1942 - Rosa María Mateo, journalist was born in Burgos. She began her career with Radio Nacional de España and went on to present news programmes for TVE 2, TVE 1, and Antena 3 Televisión.
1950 - Eloy Arenas, comedian.
1975 - Josico, footballer.
1977 - Héctor Miguel, Quequé, humorist.

1983 - Borja Golán, Squash player
1991 - Belén Beltrán, actress

1998 - Iñigo Vicente, Basque football player

Deaths
1275 - Raymond of Penyafort, Catalan archbishop and saint (b. 1175)
1387 - Peter IV of Aragon (b. 1319)
1492 - Pedro Fernández III de Velasco, soldier.
1611 - Juan de Ribera, Valencia archbishop and viceroy.
1827 - Francisco de Eguía. soldier (b. 1750)
1888 - Manuel Fernández y González, writer.
1905 - José María Gabriel y Galán, poet.
1942 - Pedro Fernández III of Velasco, soldier.
1976 - Óscar Esplá, composer.
1979 - Nicanor Villalta, bullfighter.
1981 - Antonio Suárez, cyclist (b. 1932)
1991 - Antonio Blanco Freijeiro, archaeologist (b. 1923)
1991 - María Zambrano, writer from Málaga (b. 1904)
1995 - Agustín Gaínza, footballer (b. 1922)
2008 - Fernando Beorlegui, painter (b. 1928)
2010 - Manuel Falces, photographer (b. 1952)
2013 - Enrique Meneses, journalist, writer and photographer (b. 1929)