Salmerón y Alonso, Nicolás [key], 1838–1908, Spanish statesman and philosopher. A professor at Oviedo and Madrid universities and a convinced republican, he became, after the expulsion (1868) of Isabella II, a member of the revolutionary junta, of the constituent assembly (1869), and of the Cortes (1871). After Amadeus's abdication, he was briefly minister of justice and then president of the short-lived first republic (1873). He opposed the coup (1874) that brought Serrano to power and fled to Paris after the restoration of Alfonso XII. Returning to Spain, he regained (1884) his chair of philosophy at Madrid Univ. and was reelected (1886) to the Cortes. For the next two decades he was the grand old man of Spanish republicanism, and helped initiate its resurgence after the turn of the century.
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