Mauricio González-Gordon y Díez
| Mauricio González-Gordon y Díez | |
|---|---|
| Born |
18 October 1923 Hampton Hill, London, United Kingdom |
| Died | 27 September 2013 (aged 89) Jerez de la Frontera, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Alma mater | University of Seville |
| Known for | preservation efforts of Doñana National Park, sherry business |
| Title | Marquis of Bonanza (1980–2013) |
| Spouse(s) | Milagro López de Carrizosa y Eizaguirre |
| Children | Bibiana, Mauricio |
| Parent(s) | Manuel María González-Gordon, Emilia Díez Gutiérrez |
Mauricio González-Gordon y Díez, Marquis of Bonanza (18 October 1923 – 27 September 2013) was a Spanish sherry maker and a conservationist. Most of his life he worked for the family company, González Byass, where he increased its exports to a worldwide level. His family estate was located in the wetland region called Doñana in southern Spain and was threatened by drainage efforts in the early 1950s. González-Gordon with the help of researchers and international support managed to preserve the site, while at the same time donating some of his family land to the conservation effort. Afterward, González-Gordon became one of the founders of the Spanish Ornithological Society in 1954. His conservation efforts for Doñana culminated in the creation of the Doñana National Park in 1969. The area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
González-Gordon was born in Hampton Hill, London, United Kingdom, as a son to a Spanish family with Scottish descent rooted in the Clan Gordon. His parents were Manuel María González-Gordon and Emilia Díez Gutiérrez. Mauricio, whose father was known as the 'Pope of Sherry', was the second of a total of four children. One of his ancestors, John David Gordon of Wardhouse, had moved to Jerez de la Frontera in the 18th century and started trading in sherry. At the time of his birth, González-Gordon's father Manuel was the chairman of González Byass and was actively promoting the brand in the United Kingdom. During his youth González-Gordon was raised as a bilingual, being fluent in both Spanish and English. González-Gordon moved to Jerez de la Frontera at age three to go to school in Spain. He was homeschooled by private tutors and attended La Salle Buen Pastor college. He later attended the . His primary studies were followed up by economic studies at the Jerez College of Commerce, where he licensed as a teacher of trade. He passed the final period of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 working in an airplane factory, helping construct Polikarpov planes for the aerial forces of General Francisco Franco. He attended the University of Seville and graduated in Chemical Sciences in 1946.
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