born April 19, 1832, Madrid, Spain
died Sept. 4, 1916, Madrid
Spanish dramatist.
A mathematics professor in his early life, he later held government positions, including minister of finance, and helped develop the Banco de España. His first play, The Checkbook , was not produced until he was 42 years old; from then on he wrote an average of two plays a year for the rest of his life. These melodramas, now forgotten, were very popular in his day, and he was admired for his fertile imagination and his skillful stage effects. With Frédéric Mistral , he won the 1904 Nobel Prize for Literature.