Juan Manuel Fernández Pacheco, 8th Duke of Escalona

The Most Excellent
The Duke of Escalona
GE
The Most Excellent The Duke of Escalona GE
	The Duke of Escalona in an 18th century painting
Seat A of the Royal Spanish Academy
	In office; 6 July 1713 – 29 June 1725
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	Tomás Pascual de Azpeitia
Director of the Royal Spanish Academy
	In office; 6 July 1713 – 29 June 1725
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Mercurio López Pacheco
Personal details
Born	Juan Manuel María de la Aurora Fernández Pacheco Acuña Girón y Portocarrero; 7 September 1650; Marcilla (Navarre), Spain
Died	29 June 1725 (aged 74); Madrid, Spain
Spouse	María Josefa de Benavides Silva y Manrique de Lara (m. 1674)
Children	Mercurio López Pacheco, 9th Duke of Escalona; Marciano Fernandez Pacheco, 12th Marquess of Moya;
Parents	Diego López Pacheco, 7th Duke of Escalona; Juana de Zúñiga y Sotomayor;

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 (Real Academia Española (RAE)). He was elected its first lifetime director in 1713.^[2]

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, (Escalona 9 May 1679 - Madrid 7 June 1738), the 9th Duke of Escalona and many other titles and also the lifetime 2nd director of the RAE (1725–1738).
Marciano Fernández Pacheco (1688-1743)

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

Government offices
Preceded by Alejandro de Bournonville	Viceroy of Navarre 1691–1692	Succeeded by Baltasar de Zúñiga
Preceded by Baltasar de los Cobos	Viceroy of Aragon 1693	Succeeded by Domenico del Giudice
Preceded by Juan Claros Pérez de Guzmán	Viceroy of Catalonia 1693–1694	Succeeded by Francisco Antonio de Agurto
Preceded by Luis Francisco de la Cerda	Viceroy of Naples 1700–1713	Succeeded by Georg Adam von Martinitz
Preceded by Pietro Colonna	Viceroy of Sicily 1701–1702	Succeeded by Francesco del Giudice
Academic offices
New title	Director of The Royal Spanish Academy 1713–1725	Succeeded by The Duke of Escalona
New title	A seat of The Royal Spanish Academy 1713–1725	Succeeded by Tomás Pascual de Azpeitia
Spanish nobility
Preceded by Diego López Pacheco	Duke of Escalona 1653–1725	Succeeded by Mercurio López Pacheco
	Marquis of Villena 1653–1725
	Count of San Esteban de Gormaz 1653–1725
	Count of Xiquena 1653–1725
	Marquis of Moya 1653–1725	Succeeded by Vicente de Cabrera