Fernando de Silva, 12th Duke of Alba facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Most Excellent Fernando de Silva 12th Duke of Alba GE
Portrait by Jean-Marc Nattier, 1749
Chief Minister of Spain
In office 9 April 1754 – 15 May 1754
Monarch	Ferdinand VI
Preceded by	José de Carvajal y Lancáster
Succeeded by	Ricardo Wall
Seat O of the Real Academia Española
In office 17 April 1754 – 15 November 1776
Preceded by	José de Carvajal y Lancáster
Succeeded by	José Joaquín de Silva-Bazán
Director of the Real Academia Española
In office 17 April 1754 – 15 November 1776
Preceded by	José de Carvajal y Lancáster
Succeeded by	José Joaquín de Silva-Bazán
Personal details
Born	Fernando de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo 27 October 1714 Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire
Died	15 November 1776(1776-11-15) (aged 62) Madrid, Spain

Fernando de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 12th Duke of Alba (27 October 1714 – 15 November 1776), was a Spanish politician and general who was Prime Minister of Spain in 1754.

Biography

Better known as the Duke of Huéscar, Fernando de Silva was a man of the Enlightenment and friend of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was Spanish ambassador to France between 1746 and 1749. On 8 November 1753 he was appointed Mayordomo mayor and chief of the Royal Household and, on 9 April 1754 he was made director of the Real Academia Española, a function he held until his death in 1776.

He was also Chief Minister of Spain between 9 April and 15 May 1754. As Duke of Alba, he was succeeded by his granddaughter María del Pilar de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba, who was a friend of Francisco de Goya, who visited their villa on several occasions and painted there in 1786 El verano and La vendimia.

Descendants

He had married Ana María Alvarez de Toledo y de Portugal, (1710–1738), daughter of the 9th Count of Oropesa. They had one son, who pre-deceased his father:

• Francisco de Paula de Silva Mendoza y Toledo, 10th Duke of Huéscar, (1733–1770) who had one daughter.
  • María del Pilar de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba (1762–1802).

Sources

See also

In Spanish: Fernando de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo para niños