December 4, 1892 - Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who was the leader of Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. He had led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.

Born in Ferrol, Galicia, into an upper-class military family, Franco served in the Spanish Army as a cadet in the Toledo Infantry Academy from 1907 to 1910. While serving in Morocco, he rose through the ranks to become a brigadier general in 1926 at age 33. Two years later, Franco became the director of the General Military Academy in Zaragoza. As a conservative and monarchist, Franco regretted the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Second Republic in 1931, and was devastated by the closing of his academy; nevertheless, he continued his service in the Republican Army. His career was boosted after the right-wing CEDA and PRR won the 1933 election, empowering him to lead the suppression of the 1934 uprising in Asturias.

Content sourced from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco Franco under CC BY-SA 4.0.