Famous Asturians

Pelayo: defeated Moors at Covadonga (Mount Aseuva) in 722, beginning the Christian Reconquest of Spain. First King in the Kingdom of Asturias.

Ruy Perez de Avilés: paternal ancestor of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. 1248: his vessels severed Moorish chain defending Guadalquivir River at Sevilla.

Gutierre Bernaldode Quirós: the hero of Aljubarrota;

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés: 1565: founded Saint Augustine: the oldest city in North America.

Pedro Menéndez Marquez: nephew of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. Governor of Florida in 1577-89.

Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes: Indias chronicler- wrote descriptions of the manatee, the pineapple, the canoe, tobacco, & the hammock.

Juan Carreño de Miranda: born in Avilés in 1614. painted 17 royal portraits during the reign of Carlos II.

Pedro Rodríguez Campomanes: 18th century writer & politician.

Jovellanos: (1744-1811) author and statesman and author. One of the leaders of the 18th-century Spanish Enlightenment Era.

Rafael Riego: 19th century military, anti-Fernando VII.

Leopoldo Alas: (1852-1901): Spanish novelist, short-story writer who wrote under the pseudonym Clarín.

Augustín Arguelles: 19th century politician who was Isabel II's tutor

Ramón Campoamor: (1817-1901). poet.

Posada Herrera: (1814-1885) politcian. born in Llanes.

Pedro Pidal de Quiros (Marques de Villaviciosa) won a silver medal in the 1900 Paris Olympics. 1904: first person to reach the peak at climbed Naranjo de Bulnes (Europe´s Peaks). 1917: inaugurated Spain´s first national Park, Covadonga in Asturias.