List of Spaniards
This is a list of Spaniards that are famous or notable.
(In alphabetical order within categories.)
Actors
Architects
Authors
Mateo Alemán (1547-c. 1609)
Vicente Aleixandre (1888-1984), poet, Nobel prize 1977
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870), poet
Jacinto Benavente (1866-1954), dramatist, Nobel prize 1922
Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681), playwright and poet
Rosalía de Castro (1837-1885), poet
Camilo José Cela (1916-2002), novelist, Nobel prize 1989
Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), author and soldier, writer of El Quijote , or Don Quixote Miguel Delibes (born 1920), novelist
José Echegaray (1832-1916), dramatist, Nobel prize 1904
Leandro Fernández de Moratín (1760-1828), dramatist and neoclassical poet
Antonio Gala
Benito Pérez Galdós
Federico García Lorca (1898-1936), poet and playwright
Luis de Góngora , poet and priest
Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958), poet, Nobel prize 1956
Jon Juaristi
Mariano José de Larra (1809-1837), journalist
Salvador de Madariaga
Juan Marsé (born 1933), novelist
Joanot Martorell
Tirso de Molina (1571-1648), playwright
Agustín Moreto y Cavana , playwright
Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1744-1811), statesman and author
José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955), author
Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851-1921), author
Arturo Pérez-Reverte (born 1951), novelist and war reporter
Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645)
Fernando de Rojas
Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla , playwright
Juan Ruiz de Alarcón , playwright
Ramón J. Sender (1901-1982), novelist, journalist and anarchist
Torcuato Luca de Tena (1923-1999), novelist, journalist and lawyer
Miguel Unamuno (1864-1931), existentialist author
Ramón María del Valle-Inclán (1866-1936), author
Garcilaso de la Vega (1501-1586), poet
Félix Lope de Vega (1562-1635), poet and playwright
Cristóbal Zaragoza (1923-1999), novelist and philosopher
María de Zayas y Sotomayor
José Zorrilla y Moral , poet and playwright
Explorers
Cosme Damián Churruca (1761-1805), explorer, astronomer and naval officer, mapped the Straight of Magallanes (1788-1789)
Hernán Cortés (1485-1547), conquistador of old Mexico
Lope de Aguirre (1511-1561), soldier, adventurer, killer and traitor, explored the Amazonas looking for El Dorado
Diego de Almagro (1475-1538), explorer and conquistador , first European arriving Chile
Juan Bautista de Anza (1736-1788), soldier and explorer, founded San Francisco , California
Pedro Arias de Ávila, Pedrarias Dávila (1440-1531), conquistador , founder of Panama and governor of Nicaragua
Fray Tomás de Berlanga (1487-1551), bishop of Panama , discovered the Galápagos Islands
Gaspar de Espinosa (1467/77?-1537), soldier and explorer, first European reaching the coast of Nicaragua , co-founder of Panama City
Hernando de Soto (1500-1542), explorer and conquistador , first European exploring Florida and the plains of eastern North America , discovered the Mississippi river and the Ohio river
Juan Sebastián Elcano (1476-1526), explorer and sailor, first man circumnavigating the World
Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519), first to sight the Pacific Ocean , founding Darién
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca first European exploring southwestern United States , 1527-1536, also explored South America, 1540-1542
Francisco de Orellana , first European exploring the Amazonas river.
Francisco Pizarro (1471-1541), conqueror of the Inca Empire in Peru
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (1499-1543), explorer, founded the city of San Diego , California
Film directors
Pedro Almodóvar (born 1949)
Alejandro Amenábar (born 1972)
Montxo Armendáriz
Juanma Bajo Ulloa
Iciar Bollaín
José Luis Borau
Luis Buñuel (1900-1983)
Mario Camus
Isabel Coixet
Fernando León de Aranoa (born 1968)
Alex de la Iglesia
Agustín Díaz Yanes
Víctor Erice
Fernando Fernán Gómez
Marco Ferreri
José Luis Garci (born 1944)
Luis García Berlanga
Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón
Bigas Luna (born 1946)
Julio Medem (born 1958)
Fernando Méndez Leite
Pilar Miró
José Luis Sáenz de Heredia
Carlos Saura (born 1932)
Santiago Segura
David Trueba
Fernando Trueba
Your Mom
Benito Zambrano
Iván Zulueta (born 1943)
Leaders
José María Aznar (born 1953), former prime minister
Juan Carlos de Borbón (born 1938)
José Antonio Cánovas del Castillo prime minister and historian
Rodrigo 'Ruy' Díaz de Vivar, El Cid (c. 1045-1099), Spanish knight and hero
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba , El Gran Capitán , (1453-1515)
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, Duke of Alba (1507-1582)
Buenaventura Durruti (1896-1936)
Francisco Franco (1892-1975)
Felipe González (born 1942), former prime minister
Queen Isabella I , Queen of Spain (1451-1504)
Casto Méndez Núñez (1830-1880), naval officer
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (born 1960), prime minister
Trajan (53-117), Roman Emperor , 98-117
Musicians
Singers
Painters
Philosophers
Scientists
Algafequi , glasses inventor (Cordoba)
José María Algué (1856-1930), Meteorologist, inventor of the barocyclometer , the nephoscope , and the microseismograph
Martín de Azpilicueta (1492-1586), economist, theologist and philosopher
Ángel Cabrera (1879-1960), naturalist, investigated the South-American fauna
José Celestino Bruno Mutis (1732-1808), botanicist, doctor, philosopher and mathematician, carried out relevant research about the American flora, founded one of the first astronomic observatories in America (1762)
Mateo José Buenaventura Orfila (1787-1853), doctor and chemist, father of modern toxicology , leading figure in forensic toxicology.
Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu (1895-1936), aeronautical engineer pioneer of rotary flight inventor of the autogyro
Jaime Ferrán (1852-1929), doctor and researcher, discovered several vaccines
Francisco Hernández (1517-1587), botanicist, carried out important research about the Mexican flora
Manuel Jalón Corominas (born 1925), aeronautical engineer, inventor, and officer of the Spanish Air Force
Carlos Jiménez Díaz (1898-1967), doctor and researcher, leading figure in pathology
Gregorio Marañón (1887-1960), doctor and researcher, leading figure in endocrinology
Narcís Monturiol (1818-1885), physicist and inventor, pioneer of underwater navigation
Severo Ochoa de Albornoz (1905-1993), doctor and biochemist, achieved the synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA), Nobel prize in 1959
Joan Oró (born 1923), biochemist, carried out important research about the origin of life
Julio Palacios Martínez (1891-1970), physicist and mathematician
Isaac Peral y Caballero (1851-1895), engineer and sailor, designer of the first operative submarine
Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934), father of Neuroscience , Nobel prize in 1906
Julio Rey Pastor (1888-1962), mathematician, leading figure in geometry
Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente (1928-1980), naturalist, leading figure in ornithology, ethology, ecology and science divulgation
Miguel Servet (1511-1553), scientist, surgeon, geographer, linguist, helenist, humanist, and philosopher
Leonardo Torres y Quevedo (1852-1936), engineer and mathematician, pioneer of automatic calculation machines, inventor of the automatic chess, pioneer of remote control , designer of the funicular over the Niagara Falls
Antonio de Ulloa (1716-1795), scientist, soldier and author
Sports
Fernando Alonso (born 1981), Formula One driver
Severiano Ballesteros , golfer
Galo Blanco , tennis player
Fermin Cacho Ruiz , athlete , Olympic 1,500 Gold Medalist
Pedro Carrasco , world champion boxer
Javier Castillejo , world champion boxer
Juan Carlos Ferrero , tennis player, French Open champion
Sergio García , golfer
Pau Gasol , NBA basketball player
Miguel Induráin , Tour de France champion cyclist
Carlos Moyà , tennis player
Ángel Nieto , motorbikes pilot, 12+1 times champion of the world
José María Olazábal , golfer
Manuel Orantes (born 1949), champion tennis player
Raúl , football player
Carlos Sainz , rally driver
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario , tennis player, French Open champion
Javier Sánchez , tennis player, brother of Arantxa
Manuel Santana (born 1938), champion tennis player
Others
Ferrán Adriá , cook
Karlos Arguiñano , cook and entertainer
Carlos D. Cidon , chef
Joaquín Cortés , dancer
Luis Miguel González Lucas , better known as Luis Miguel Dominguín , bullfighter, father of Miguel Bosé
Chabeli Iglesias , reporter, daughter of Julio Iglesias
Federica Montseny , anarchist , politician, writer
Sean Piniero , drug dealer
Diego Salcedo , priest, first Spaniard killed by Puerto Rican Taínos
Juan Sánchez Vidal , renowned collector
Pedro Subijana , cook
Cristina Sánchez , bullfighter
Aguas Santas Ocaña Navarro , first lady of Honduras
Torquemada , inquisitor
Joan March Ordinas , political and businesmen.
See also: List of people by nationality , List of Catalans , list of Spanish language poets , List of Spanish monarchs
