Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquis of Villaverde

Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú
Consort Duke of Franco

Coat of Arms for the Marquis of Villaverde
Marquis of Villaverde
Tenure 12 December 1980 – 4 February 1998
Predecessor María de la Esperanza Bordiú y Bascarán
Successor Francisco Martínez-Bordiú y Franco
Born (1922-08-01)1 August 1922
Mancha Real, Spain
Died 4 February 1998(1998-02-04) (aged 75)
Madrid, Spain
Burial Almudena Cathedral
Spouse Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco
Issue María del Carmen, Duchess of Anjou and Cádiz
María de la O Ardid y Martínez-Bordiú
Francisco Martínez-Bordiú y Franco, 11th Marquis of Villaverde
María del Mar Martínez-Bordiú y Franco
José Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú y Franco
María de Aránzazu Quiroga y Martínez-Bordiú
Jaime Martínez-Bordiú y Franco
Father José María Martínez y Ortega
Mother María de la Esperanza Bordiú y Bascarán, 7th Countess of Argillo

Don Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú y Ortega, 10th Marquis of Villaverde (1 August 1922 Jaén, Mancha Real, Spain – 4 February 1998 Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish aristocrat and noted heart surgeon.

Family

He was born Cristóbal Martínez y Bordiú, one of four children of José María Martínez y Ortega (Jaén, Mancha Real, 24 October 1890 - Mancha Real, 10 November 1970) and wife (m. Sabiñán, 2 February 1918) María de la O Esperanza Bordiú y Bascarán (Madrid, 19 December 1896 - Mancha Real, 12 December 1980), 7th Countess of Argillo. Even though his parents did not have as many titles as the Duchess of Alba, they had enough to give each of their sons a title. Andrés Martínez-Bordiú was made the 15th Count of Morata de Jalón, José María Martínez-Bordiú was made the Baron of Gotor, Tomás Martínez-Bordiú was made the Baron of Illueca and Cristóbal was made the 10th Marquess of Villaverde.

When he was 23 he graduated from medical school.

Marriage and children

He was married on 10 April 1950 in the Palacio Real de El Pardo with María del Carmen Franco y Polo, the future Duchess of Franco, the only daughter of the Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco (1939–1975). There were more than 800 attending the wedding. It was performed by the Bishop Leopoldo Eijo y Garay of the Diocese of Madrid (now Archdiocese of Madrid). This wedding made him acquire great social relevance in the Spain of General Franco. He was nicknamed the Yernísimo, in a clear reference to the title of Generalísimo of his father-in-law (yerno in Spanish means son-in-law, although in Spanish the suffix -ísimo can only be added to certain adjectives to indicate "more than", but it can never be used with nouns). In 13 years, he and his wife had seven children:

First Spanish heart transplant

Since he was a heart surgeon and great friend and admirer of Dr. Christiaan Barnard, he became the first Spaniard to perform a heart transplant in September 1968. The patient only survived 24 hours. A popular joke was that Martinez-Bordiu killed more in La Paz (the hospital where he worked, and translating to The Peace) than his father-in-law in the war.

On a visit to Spain Dr. Barnard joked, "I am a surgeon who wants to be a playboy and he is a playboy that wishes to be a surgeon."

Death

He died in Madrid on 4 February 1998 and was succeeded as marquis by his eldest son, Francisco Franco, 11th Marquis of Villaverde.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.