Juan Manuel Fernández Pacheco, 8th Duke of Escalona

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fernández Pacheco and the second or maternal family name is Zúñiga.

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.

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 (1650-09-07)7 September 1650 Marcilla (Navarre), Spain
Died	29 June 1725(1725-06-29) (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

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). 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.

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, (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)