Rafael Ginard i Sabater, alias ''Romà'', was a skipper in Port d'Alcúdia (

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

) in the 19th century. In 1847 he took part in the rescue of the ''Flora'', a schooner that was shipwrecked near

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and then dragged by the current to the bay of

Alcúdia Alcúdia () is a municipality and township of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is the main tourist centre in the North of Majorca on the eastern coast. It is a large resort popular with families. Most of the hotels ...

. Rafael Ginard's determination saved the sailors and the captain aboard the ''Flora''. In grateful recognition of his service, King

Oscar I of Sweden Oscar I (born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte; 4 July 1799 – 8 July 1859) was King of Sweden and Norway from 8 March 1844 until his death. He was the second monarch of the House of Bernadotte. The only child of King Charles XIV John, Oscar i ...

awarded Rafael Ginard with the ''

Illis Quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') (English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It"), is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gust ...

'' medal.''Post-och Inrikes Tidningar'', nº 69, 23 march 1848

References

Year of birth missing Year of death missing Sea captains Spanish sailors Recipients of the Illis quorum {{Spain-bio-stub