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José Echegaray y Eizaguirre (19 April 183214 September 1916) was a Spanish civil engineer, mathematician, statesman, and one of the leading Spanish dramatists of the last quarter of the 19th century. He was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of the numerous and brilliant compositions which, in an individual and original manner, have revived the great traditions of the Spanish drama".
Early life
He was born in Madrid on 19 April 1832. His father, a doctor and institute professor of Greek, was from Aragon and his mother was from Navarra. He spent his childhood in Murcia, where he finished his elementary school education. It was there, at the Murcia Institute, where he first gained his love for mathematics. While still a child he readGoethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
, Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
, and Balzac, readings that alternated with those of mathematicians like Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; ; ; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician, astronomer, Geodesy, geodesist, and physicist, who contributed to many fields in mathematics and science. He was director of the Göttingen Observat ...
, Legendre, and Lagrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi Lagrangiastereotomy,
José Echegaray maintained constant activity until his death on 14 September 1916 in Madrid. His extensive work did not stop growing in his old age: in the final stage of his life he wrote 25 or 30 mathematical physics volumes. At the age of 83 he commented:
Elsevier Publishing Co. biography
*
List of works
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Echegaray y Eizaguirre, Jose 1832 births 1916 deaths Writers from Madrid Spanish dramatists and playwrights Spanish male dramatists and playwrights Nobel laureates in Literature Spanish Nobel laureates Economy and finance ministers of Spain Members of the Royal Spanish Academy 19th-century Spanish mathematicians Complutense University of Madrid alumni 19th-century Spanish male writers Government ministers during the First Spanish Republic
hydraulic
Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...
s, descriptive geometry
Descriptive geometry is the branch of geometry which allows the representation of three-dimensional objects in two dimensions by using a specific set of procedures. The resulting techniques are important for engineering, architecture, design an ...
, and differential and physical calculus from that year until 1868. From 1858 to 1860 he was also a professor at the Assistants' School of Public Works.
His (1865) and (1867) were held in some regard. He became a member of the Society of Political Economy, helped to found the magazine , and took a prominent part in propagating free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
doctrines in the press and on the platform.
He was clearly marked out for office, and when the revolution of 1868 overthrew the monarchy, he resigned his post for a place in the revolutionary cabinet.
Government service
Echegaray also entered politics later in his life. As a founding member of the republican Radical Democratic Party, he enjoyed a career in the government sector, being appointed Minister of Education, of Public Works and Finance Minister successively between 1867 and 1874. He retired from politics after the Bourbon restoration in 1874.Literary career
Theater had always been the love of José Echegaray's life. Although he had written earlier plays (''La Hija natural'' and ''La Última Noche'', both in 1867), he truly became a dramatist in 1874. His plays reflected his sense of duty, which had made him famous during his time in the governmental offices. Dilemmas centered on duty and morality are the motif of his plays. He replicated the achievements of his predecessors of theSpanish Golden Age
The Spanish Golden Age (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Siglo de Oro'', , "Golden Century"; 1492 – 1681) was a period of literature and the The arts, arts in Spain that coincided with the political rise of the Spanish Empire under the Catholic M ...
, remaining a prolific playwright.
His most famous play is '' El gran Galeoto'', a drama written in the grand nineteenth century manner of melodrama
A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...
. It is about the poisonous effect that unfounded gossip has on a middle-aged man's happiness. Echegaray filled it with elaborate stage instructions that illuminate what we would now consider a hammy style of acting popular in the 19th century. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
filmed it as a silent with the title changed to '' The World and His Wife'', and it was the basis for a later film The Great Galeoto. His most remarkable plays are ''O locura o santidad'' (Saint or Madman?, 1877); ''Mariana'' (1892); ''El estigma'' (1895); ''La duda'', 1898; and ''El loco Dios'' (God, the fool, 1900).
Among his other famous plays are ''La esposa del vengador'' (1874) (The Avenger's Wife); ''En el puño de la espada'' (1875) (In the Sword's Handle); ''En el pilar y en la cruz'' (1878) (On the Stake and on the Cross); and ''Conflicto entre dos deberes'' (1882) (Conflict of Two Duties).
Along with the Provençal poet Frédéric Mistral, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1904, after having been nominated that year by a member of the Royal Spanish Academy
The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...
, making him the first Spaniard to win the prize.
José Echegaray maintained constant activity until his death on 14 September 1916 in Madrid. His extensive work did not stop growing in his old age: in the final stage of his life he wrote 25 or 30 mathematical physics volumes. At the age of 83 he commented: I cannot die, because if I am going to write my mathematical physics encyclopedia, I need at least 25 more years.
Honors
Several streets in Spain are named after José Echegaray. ''Calle Echegaray'' in Madrid's ''Barrio de las Letras'' is especially noteworthy. In 1971 the Bank of Spain issued a 1000-peseta banknote in his honor.Literary work
Plays
* ''La hija Natural'' (1865) * ''El libro talonario'' (1874) * ''La esposa del vengador'' (1874) * ''La última noche'' (1875) * ''En el puño de la espada'' (1875) * ''Un sol que nace y un sol que muere'' (1876) * ''Cómo empieza y cómo acaba'' (1876) * ''El gladiador de Rávena'' (1876) * ''Locura o santidad'' (1876). * ''O locura o santidad'' (1877) * ''Iris de paz'' (1877) * ''Para tal culpa, tal pena'' (1877) * ''Lo que no puede decirse'' (1877) * ''En el pilar y en la cruz'' (1878) * ''Correr en pos de un ideal'' (1878) * ''Algunas veces aquí'' (1878) * ''Morir por no despertar'' (1879) * ''En el seno de la muerte'' (1879) * ''Bodas trágicas'' (1879) * ''Mar sin orillas'' (1879) * ''La muerte en los labios'' (1880) * ''El gran galeoto'' (1881) * ''Haroldo el normando'' (1881) * ''Los dos curiosos impertinentes'' (1881) * ''Conflicto entre dos deberes'' (1882) * ''Un milagro en Egipto'' (1884) * ''Piensa mal ... ¿y acertarás?'' (1884) * ''La peste deOtranto
Otranto (, , ; ; ; ; ) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
...
'' (1884)
* ''Vida alegre y muerte triste'' (1885)
* ''El bandido Lisandro''(1885)
* ''De mala raza''(1886)
* ''Dos fanatismos'' (1886)
* ''El Conde Lotario'' (1887)
* ''La realidad y el delirio'' (1887)
* ''EL hijo de hierro y el hijo de carne'' (1888)
* ''Lo sublime en lo vulgar'' (1888)
* ''Manantial que no se agota'' (1889)
* ''Los rígidos'' (1889)
* ''Siempre en ridículo'' (1890)
* ''El prólogo de un drama'' (1890)
* ''Irene de Otranto'' (1890)
* ''Un crítico incipiente'' (1891)
* ''Comedia sin desenlace'' (1891)
* ''Mariana'' (1891)
* ''El hijo de Don Juan'' (1892)
* ''Sic vos non vobis o la última limosna''
* ''El poder de la impotencia'' (1893)
* ''A la orilla del mar'' (1893)
* ''La rencorosa'' (1894)
* ''Mancha que limpia'' (1895)
* ''El primer acto de un Drama''(1895)
* ''El estigma'' (1895)
* ''La cantante callejera''(1895)
* ''Amor salvaje'' (1896)
* ''Semíramis o La hija del aire''(1896)
* ''La calumnia por castigo'' (1897)
* ''La duda'' (1897)
* ''El hombre negro'' (1898)
* ''Silencio de muerte'' (1898)
* ''El loco Dios'' (1900)
* ''Malas herencias'' (1902)
* ''La escalinata de una trono''(1903)
* ''La desequilibrada''(1904)
* ''A fuerza de arrastrarse'' (1905)
* "La última limosna" (1905)
* "El preferido y los cenicientos" (1908)
Notes
References
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_EchegarayExternal links
* with the prize motivationElsevier Publishing Co. biography
*
List of works
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Echegaray y Eizaguirre, Jose 1832 births 1916 deaths Writers from Madrid Spanish dramatists and playwrights Spanish male dramatists and playwrights Nobel laureates in Literature Spanish Nobel laureates Economy and finance ministers of Spain Members of the Royal Spanish Academy 19th-century Spanish mathematicians Complutense University of Madrid alumni 19th-century Spanish male writers Government ministers during the First Spanish Republic