José de la Gándara y Navarro

José de la Gándara y Navarro (15 October 1820, Zaragoza, Spain – 1 September 1885, Biarritz, France) was a Spanish soldier, politician and governor.

Afterward he served with distinction in the colonies, and, after reaching the rank of brigadier, was appointed, in 1857, governor of the islands of Fernando Poo and Annobón y Corisco.

The insurrection against the Spanish domination of Santo Domingo, which had been annexed in 1861, began in the department of Cibao in February 1863; the troops were soon driven into the coast-towns, and the interior cities wrested from them.

He landed in Puerto Plata, 17 September 1863, driving the insurgent forces back, and afterward occupied the cities of Santo Domingo and San Cristóbal, the latter after a series of bloody engagements with the enemy, in 1864 he was promoted to lieutenant-general and appointed captain-general and commander-in-chief of the island, and in that year won the battle of Monte Cristi.

He subsequently received the appointment of governor-general of the Philippines, and, after the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, was military chief of the king's household, and captain-general of Castile.