Juana Capdevielle San Martín (12 August 1905 – 18 August 1936) was a Spanish librarian, archivist, pedagogue, and educator. She is recognized as the first woman to head a university library in Spain and was executed during the early days of the Spanish Civil War.
Early Life and Education
Born in Madrid to a family of French and Navarrese origins, Capdevielle completed her secondary education in Pamplona. She earned her undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Literature at the Central University of Madrid, where she studied under philosopher José Ortega y Gasset and was a classmate of the philosopher María Zambrano. She received funding from the Junta para Ampliación de Estudios e Investigaciones Científicas (JAE) to pursue further studies in Germany, Belgium, France, and Switzerland.
Career
On 9 July 1930, Capdevielle joined the Faculty of Archivists, Librarians, and Archaeologists, initially working as an adjunct at the National Library of Spain and, from July 1931, at the Library of the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature at the University of Madrid. In 1933, she became the first woman placed in charge of a library at a Spanish university. In that role, she coordinated the transfer of important collections into the new facilities at the University City of Madrid.
Also in 1933, she became the technical chief of the library of the Ateneo de Madrid, one of the most prestigious private libraries in the country. Among her professional contributions, in 1934 she organized a book circulation service for patients at the Hospital Clínico San Carlos and the Red Cross. She played an active role in the founding of the Association of Librarians and Bibliographers of Spain, serving as its treasurer, and assisted in the adoption and implementation of the Universal Decimal Classification in Spanish librarianship.
In 1933, she participated in the first Spanish Conference on Eugenics, presenting a paper titled The problem of love in the university setting. Along with Roberto Novoa Santos, Pío Baroja, and Ramón J. Sender, she presented at the first Spanish Congress on Sexual Pedagogy in 1934.
Personal Life and Death
She married Francisco Pérez Carballo, a lawyer and politician, in 1934, and they moved to Galicia. After the Popular Front's victory, her husband was appointed governor of La Coruña. Following the Spanish coup of July 1936 that began the Spanish Civil War, her husband was arrested and shot on 24 July by rebel military forces. Unaware of his death, Capdevielle contacted the government seeking information and was told she would be taken to him. Instead, she was arrested and imprisoned. While in prison, she learned of her husband's execution. At the time, she was pregnant but had an abortion after learning of her husband's murder.
She was released in early August and took shelter in Vilaboa (Culleredo) at the home of Victorino Veiga, a representative of the Republican Left. While there, she received a deportation order but was arrested again on 17 August by the Guardia Civil. She was raped by Falangists and then killed by shooting at kilometer 526 of the N-VI highway. Her body was found the following day near Rábade, in Lugo. She was 31 years old.
