Adán Cárdenas del Castillo (7 June 1836 – 1 January 1916) was a

Nicaraguan Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and ...

politician and medical doctor. He also served as the

President of Nicaragua The co-presidents of Nicaragua (), officially known as the presidency of the Republic of Nicaragua (), are the heads of state and head of government, government of Nicaragua. The office was created in the Constitution of 1854. From 1825 until ...

between 1 March 1883 and 1 March 1887. He was a member of the Conservative Party of Nicaragua. Cárdenas was born in the colonial city of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

on the shores of Lake Cocibolca in

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. He and his parent moved to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

for some time in 1852, where he attended the National School of Genoa and received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in medicine at the University of Pisa in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. He returned to Nicaragua in 1862. He was president of the Nicaraguan Congress 1879-1881, 1885-1886 and 1911-1912.

Family

He was married to Gertrudis Martínez Solórzano, daughter of Tomás Martínez Guerrero, 36th President of Nicaragua, and wife Gertrudis Solórzano Zavala. His grandson, René Cárdenas, became the first Spanish-language announcer to cover

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

References

Presidents of Nicaragua University of Pisa alumni 1836 births 1916 deaths Conservative Party (Nicaragua) politicians 19th-century Nicaraguan people Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Nicaragua) {{Nicaragua-politician-stub