Francisco Hernández de Córdoba (1475 ? - 1526) is usually reputed as the founder of Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

, and in fact he founded two important Nicaraguan cities, Granada

Granada, Nicaragua

Granada is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 110,326 , it is Nicaragua's fourth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, economically and politically...

 and León

León, Nicaragua

León is a department in northwestern Nicaragua . It is also the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de León and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic Spanish colonial homes and churches...

. The currency of Nicaragua is named the córdoba in his memory.

Cordoba was an officer of Pedro Arias Dávila

Pedrarias Dávila

Pedrarias Dávila y Ortiz de Cota , was a Spanish colonial administrator...

, known also as Pedrarias Dávila. Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...

 supported Cordoba, in return for support against Cristóbal de Olid

Cristóbal de Olid

Cristóbal de Olid was a Spanish adventurer, conquistador and rebel who played a part in the conquest of Mexico and Honduras.Born in Zaragoza, Olid grew up in the household of the governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. In 1518 Velázquez sent Olid to relieve Juan de Grijalva, but en route a...

. Pedrarias Dávila considered Cordoba an insurrectionist and a traitor, and finally captured and beheaded him.

His remains were found in the year 2000 in Leon Viejo, Nicaragua.