Antonio Gil y Zárate

Antonio Gil y Zárate (1 December 1793–27 January 1861) was a Spanish dramatist and pedagogue whose work is associated with Romanticism. He is known for his tragedy, Guzmán el Bueno. Drama en Cuatro Actos, set in the Middle Ages and exploring the life of a legendary hero of Spain.

He was an academician of both the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando and the Real Academia Española.

The mineral Zaratite was named after him.

Early life and education Antonio Gil y Zárate was born in El Escorial in 1793 to Bernardo Gil, an actor well known in Madrid, and Ántonia Zárate. His mother died when the boy was quite young, and his father married a "celebrated actress", Antera Baus, so Antonio grew up in the world of theatre in Madrid. —, implemented the first major overhaul of Spain's education system. Although named after his friend and mentor, Pedro José Pidal, Spain's Minister of the Interior, who implemented the plan, it was actually drawn up by Gil y Zárate. The plan called for state-run institutos to be created in each provincial capital and among the many aspects it introduced were modifications to the syllabus, with the subjects of Spanish literature introduced at secondary level and geography and Spanish history introduced for both secondary and university students.

The plan also created the first chair in International Law, a post first held, albeit briefly, by Lorenzo Arrazola y García, a former Minister of Justice, future Prime Minister of Spain and President of the Supreme Court.

Works La Cómico-Manía, 1816 La Familia Catalana Él Entremetido, 1825, produced at El Teatra de Princípe Blanca de Borbon, 1829, first produced in 1835 Carlos II el Hechizado, 1837 Antonio Gil y Zárate, Guzmán el Bueno. Drama en Cuatro Actos, 1840s, (1901/1916 revised edition by Ginn and Company, annotated and edited by Sylvester Primer, with introduction in English), available online at Internet Archive of the Library of Congress.