by Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro

Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro (also spelled Feijoo, without the accent) was born on October 8, 1676, in Casdemiro, a village in the bishopric of Orense, province of Galicia, Spain. The eldest son of ten children born to Antonio Feijóo y Sanjurjo and María de Puga Sandoval Novoa—both of noble descent—Benito renounced his claims to succeed to the family estate in order to devote his life to a religious career. At age 14 he entered the Benedictine order at the monastery of St. Julian of Samos, then continued his religious and academic education at several colleges, belonging to orders in Galicia and León and later at the University...