José Clavijo y Fajardo (1730–1806), Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 publicist, was born on Lanzarote

Lanzarote

Lanzarote , a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km2, it stands as the fourth largest of the islands...

 (Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

). He settled in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, became editor of El Pensador, and by his campaign against the public performance of autos sacramentales

Autos sacramentales

Autos sacramentales are a form of dramatic literature which is peculiar to Spain, though in some respects similar in character to the old Morality plays of England.The auto sacramental may be defined as a dramatic representation of the mystery of the Eucharist...

, secured their prohibition in 1765. In 1770 he was appointed director of the royal theatres, a post which he resigned in order to take up the editorship of the Mercurio Histórico y Político de Madrid. At the time of his death in 1806 he was secretary to the Cabinet of Natural History.

He had in abundance the courage, perseverance and gift of pungent expression which form the equipment of the aggressive journalist

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

, but his work would long since have been forgotten were it not that it put an end to a peculiarly national form of dramatic exposition, and that his love affair with one of Pierre Beaumarchais

Pierre Beaumarchais

Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French playwright, watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, fugitive, spy, publisher, arms dealer, satirist, financier, and revolutionary ....

' sisters suggested the theme of Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...

's first publication, Clavigo

Clavigo (play)

Clavigo is a five-act tragedy written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1774. The lead role is taken by Beaumarchais. The play was written in just eight days in May 1774. It was published by July 1774 and is the first printed work to which Goethe put his own name, although the play was received...

.