Ramón Menéndez Pidal

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Ramón Menéndez Pidal (March 13, 1869 - November 14, 1968) was a Spanish philologist and historian. He worked extensively on the history of the Spanish language and Spanish folklore. His main topic was the legend of The Cid.

He was born in La Coruña, Spain. His father, Juan Menéndez, was a lawyer and a magistrate, originally from Asturias. His mother was Ramona Pidal, also an Asturian.

He studied at the University of Madrid (Universidad de Madrid). In 1899 he obtained the chair in Romance Philology in the same university, an appointment that he held until his retirement.

He was elected to the Spanish Royal Academy (Real Academia Española) in 1901.

In 1925 he was elected director of the Spanish Royal Academy. However, he resigned to this position in 1939 as a protest to the political climate in Spain at the time.

During the Spanish Civil War was exiled to France, Cuba and the United States.