Spanish historian, born at Baena, in Andalusia, on the 1st of May 1818. Settling in Madrid, he became professor of literature in the university of that place, devoting his study to historical as well as literary subjects. In this research he found a rich mine in Spain, where the monuments and relics of the Latins, Goths and Saracens are a constant source of interest. His chief work, which he intended to be his greatest monument, was his Historia Critica de la Literatura Española. Seven volumes of this work were completed before the death of the author, but the task was too much for one man to accomplish, and he left a great deal of material behind. The incomplete work is often inaccurate; it is, however, indispensable to students of Spanish literature. Amador died at Seville on the 17th of February 1878.
