On This Day in Asturias: February

What happened in Asturias on each day of February: historical events, saints and festivals, and births and deaths of notable Asturians. Each entry links to its source.

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February 1

  • 850 — Ramiro I dies; King of Asturias since 842, during his reign Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo were built. (source)
  • 1950 — Francisco Javier Álvarez Uría, footballer for Sporting de Gijón and Real Madrid, is born in Gijón. (source)
  • 1982 — The province of Oviedo becomes the autonomous community of the Principality of Asturias as its Statute comes into force. (source, in Spanish)
  • 1983 — Canoeist Javier Hernanz is born in Arriondas. (source)

February 2

  • 1931 — Lawyer and politician José Ramón Herrero Merediz is born in Gijón. (source)
  • 1994 — Defender Borja López is born in Gijón. (source)

February 3

  • 1802 — Pedro Rodríguez de Campomanes, born in Sorriba (Tineo), economist and great Enlightenment minister of Charles III, dies in Madrid. (source)
  • 1897 — Wenceslao Roces, jurist, historian and translator exiled in Mexico, is born in Soto de Agües (Sobrescobio). (source)

February 4

  • 1980 — Striker Eugenio Suárez, "Geni", is born in Gijón. (source)
  • 1999 — Twin footballers Jorge and Javi Mier are born in Oviedo. (source)

February 5

  • 1978 — Cyclist Samuel Sánchez, Olympic road race champion at Beijing 2008, is born in Oviedo. (source)
  • 1991 — Amaro del Rosal, a trade unionist and politician from Avilés, dies in Madrid. (source, in Spanish)

February 6

  • 1848 — Architect Eduardo Adaro, who helped design the Bank of Spain headquarters in Madrid, is born in Gijón. (source, in Spanish)
  • 1981 — Luis García, a striker who played for Liverpool among other clubs, is born in Oviedo. (source)
  • 1988 — Carmen Polo, from Oviedo, wife of Francisco Franco, dies in Madrid. (source)

February 7

  • 1988 — Left-back Roberto Canella, of Sporting de Gijón, is born in Pola de Laviana. (source)

February 8

  • 1959 — Footballer Clemente Villaverde is born in Cangas de Onís. (source)

February 9

  • 1912 — Guillermo Campanal, Sevilla FC's historic goalscorer, is born in Avilés. (source)
  • 1964 — Poet Aurelio González Ovies is born in Bañugues (Gozón). (source)

February 10

  • 1920 — Writer José Manuel Castañón is born in Pola de Lena. (source)
  • 1992 — Veneranda Manzano, a teacher from Beloncio (Piloña) and member of parliament in the Second Republic, dies in Oviedo. (source)

February 11

  • 1897 — The newspaper El Noroeste, published until 1937, is founded in Gijón. (source, in Spanish)
  • 1901 — Poet Ramón de Campoamor, from Navia, dies in Madrid. (source)
  • 1950 — Singer Tino Casal is born in Tudela Veguín (Oviedo). (source)
  • 1972 — Writer Eugenia Rico is born in Oviedo. (source)

February 12

  • 1962 — Indalecio Prieto, the socialist leader from Oviedo and minister of the Republic, dies in exile in Mexico. (source)
  • 1981 — Handball player Raúl Entrerríos, world and European champion with Spain, is born in Gijón. (source)

February 13

  • 1693 — José del Campillo, Minister of Finance, Navy and the Indies under Philip V, is born in Alles (Peñamellera Alta). (source)
  • 1932 — Marcelo Campanal, "Campanal II", a defender who played sixteen seasons for Sevilla, is born in Gijón. (source)
  • 1976 — The motorway linking Oviedo, Gijón and Avilés, known as "la Y", is opened. (source, in Spanish)
  • 2012 — Actor Frank Braña, from Pola de Allande, a familiar face of spaghetti westerns, dies. (source)

February 14

  • 1938 — Francisco García, "Paquito", a Valencia midfielder, is born in Oviedo. (source)
  • 1943 — Gabino de Lorenzo, Mayor of Oviedo for more than twenty years, is born in Oviedo. (source)

February 15

  • 1519 — Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, seaman, governor of Florida and founder of St. Augustine, is born in Avilés. (source)
  • 1955 — Sculptor Eliseo Nicolás Alonso, "Lisardo", is born in Agones (Pravia). (source)

February 16

  • 1990 — Field hockey player María López is born in Gijón. (source)

February 17

  • 1933 — International referee Mariano Medina is born in Oviedo. (source, in Spanish)
  • 1955 — Eduardo Martínez Torner, the musicologist from Oviedo who compiled the songbook of Asturian folk lyric, dies in London. (source, in Spanish)

February 18

  • 1974 — Footballer José Manuel Suárez, "Sietes", is born in Sietes (Villaviciosa). (source)
  • 2021 — Cyclist Luis Balagué, from Oviedo, dies in Mieres. (source)

February 19

  • 1979 — Midfielder Rubén Suárez is born in Gijón. (source)
  • 1993 — The Asturias prison is opened in Villabona (Llanera). (source, in Spanish)
  • 2020 — Fernando Morán, from Avilés, the Foreign Minister who negotiated Spain's entry into the European Community, dies in Madrid. (source)

February 20

  • 1824 — Juan Pérez Villamil, from Puerto de Vega, the jurist who signed the 1808 proclamation of the Mayor of Móstoles, dies in Madrid. (source, in Spanish)
  • 1984 — Singer-songwriter Pablo Und Destruktion is born in Gijón. (source)

February 21

  • 1929 — Actor Arturo Fernández, leading man of Spanish theatre and film, is born in Gijón. (source)
  • 1959 — Cyclist Ángel José Sarrapio is born in Arenas de Cabrales. (source)

February 22

  • 1965 — Lawyer and politician Ignacio Prendes is born in Gijón. (source)
  • 1969 — Some 25,000 Asturian miners go on strike. (source, in Spanish)
  • 2026 — Gregorio Morán, journalist and writer from Oviedo, dies in Barcelona. (source)

February 23

  • 1937 — Basque commander Cándido Saseta dies in Areces (Las Regueras) during the Republican offensive on Oviedo. (source, in Spanish)
  • 1954 — Félix Granda, from Pola de Lena, priest and religious artist, dies in Madrid. (source)

February 24

  • 1934 — Actor Frank Braña is born in Pola de Allande. (source)
  • 2014 — Writer and journalist Juan José Plans dies in Gijón. (source)

February 25

  • 1970 — Actress and writer Beatriz Rico is born in Avilés. (source)

February 26

  • 1801 — Alejandro Mon, the minister behind the 1845 tax reform, is born in Oviedo. (source)
  • 1926 — Gabino Díaz Merchán, Archbishop of Oviedo, is born in Mora (Toledo). (source)
  • 1928 — Juan Vázquez de Mella, from Cangas de Onís, the great ideologist of Carlism, dies in Madrid. (source)

February 27

  • 1988 — Heavy snowfall in Asturias and Cantabria cuts off many villages. (source, in Spanish)
  • 2001 — José García Nieto, the poet from Oviedo and Cervantes Prize winner, dies in Madrid. (source)
  • 2018 — Quini, "el Brujo", a Sporting de Gijón legend, dies in Gijón. (source)

February 28

  • 1943 — Writer, journalist and screenwriter Juan José Plans is born in Gijón. (source)
  • 2023 — Former footballer Pelayo Novo, from Langreo, dies in Oviedo. (source)

February 29

  • 1972 — Concha de Albornoz, a teacher and writer from Luarca exiled in Mexico, dies there. (source)
  • 2004 — The Aula de las Metáforas, a library devoted to poetry, opens in Grado. (source, in Spanish)

Do you know an Asturian anniversary that is missing here, or have you spotted a mistake? Send it to us or correct us through the contact form. Please include the day, the year and, if possible, a source.

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