Noble family House of Alba | Name Fernando Silva, | |
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Spouse(s) Ana Maria Alvarez de Toledo Died November 15, 1776, Madrid, Spain Children Francisco de Silva, 10th Duke of Huescar | ||
Fernando de Silva Mendoza y Toledo, 12th Duke of Alba, Grandee of Spain (27 October 1714 – 15 November 1776), was a Spanish politician and general.
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Biography
Better known as the Duke of Huescar, 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 November 8, 1753 he was appointed Mayordomo mayor and chief of the Royal Household and, on April 9, 1754 he was made director of the Real Academia Espanola, a function he held until his death in 1776.
He was also Prime Minister of Spain between April 9 and May 15, 1754. As Duke of Alba, he was succeeded by his granddaughter Maria 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 Maria Alvarez de Toledo y de Portugal, (1710–1738), daughter of the 9th Count of Oropesa. They had one son, who pre-deceased his father: