Rafael María Baralt
Rafael María Baralt y Pérez was a Venezuelan diplomat and one of the country's most famed writers, philologists, and historians. He was the first Latin American to occupy a chair at the Real Academia Española.
Life
Born in Maracaibo on 3 July 1810, he was the son of Miguel Antonio Baralt, who helped build the Baralt Theater in Maracaibo, and Ana Francisca Pérez, who was Dominican.Baralt was elected to seat R of the Real Academia Española, he took up his seat on 27 November 1853.
He suffered an untimely death in Madrid on 4 January 1860 due to the stresses and aggravations suffered during services rendered to his beloved country of birth. He is buried in the National Pantheon of Venezuela.