Juan Ferreras

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Juan Ferreras y García (1 June 1652 – 8 June 1735) was a Spanish priest and scholar from La Bañeza. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Spanish Academy in 1713 and held the academy’s seat B until his death in Madrid in 1735. Ferreras also played a key role with Spain’s Royal Library. The library opened to learned readers by a 1711 decree and began operating fully in 1712; after the death of the first Royal Librarian, Gabriel Álvarez de Toledo, Ferreras was appointed and helped establish the Library’s rules in 1716. In 1717, Philip V restructured Catalan higher education after Catalan support for the Habsburgs, creating the University of Cervera; Madrid institutions like the Seminario de Nobles were also influenced by the Jesuits at that time. Ferreras’s work helped lay important foundations for Spanish culture and scholarship.