Because I love lists so much, I’ve decided to do a top 10 of Spain. 10 Spanish people you should know about. Again, not necessarily the most famous/well known (sorry Antonio Banderas won’t make the cut for this very reason) – but you will thank me one day when you reach that high level in trivial pursuit.

1. Francisco Franco (1892–1975)

A general. from 1939 dictator and formal Head of State of Spain. Ok he’s a bit more obvious, however he has influenced Spanish society ever since he came to power. His rule was known for a focus on Spanish nationalism, imperial aspirations, centralism and traditional values.

2. Tomas de Torquemada (1420 -1498. ) was a fifteenth century Spanish Dominican, and an Inquisitor General. Famously described by the Spanish chronicler, Sebastian de Olmedo, as “the hammer of heretics, the light of Spain, the saviour of his country, the honour of his order”.

He is known for his zealous campaign against the crypto-Jews and crypto-Muslims of Spain. He was one of the chief supporters of the Alhambra Decree, which expelled the Jews from Spain in 1492.

3. Francisco Pizarro Gonzalez. (1471-1541) He was a Spanish conquistador, conquerer of the Inca Empire and founder of Lima, capital of Peru. He should not be confused with another Francisco Pizarro who joined Hernan Cortes to conquer the Aztecs.

4. Chabeli Ingelsias. 1971 – .

She’s a journalist based in Washington D.C. She is of mixed Filipino and Spanish ancestry. Chabeli is the daughter of famous Spanish singer Julio Inglesias and Filipino journalist Isabel Preysler. She is also sister of the better known pop star Enrique Iglesias.

Chabeli appeared in many local and international covers of gossip magazines since at a young age, as the press made the Iglesias family one of their favorite targets. After the kidnapping of her grandfather in 1985 her father decided to move her and her brothers to safety in Miami, United States where she lived in protective custody.

5. Fernando Villaamil (1845-1898. ) was a Spanish naval officer, remembered for his internationally recognized professionalism, for being the designer of the first destroyer warship in history and for his heroic death in the naval Battle of Santiago de Cuba of the Spanish-American war, being the highest Spanish officer to suffer this fate in that event.

6. Enric Miralles Moya (1955 – 2000) was a Catalan architect. Miralles’ largest work, the new Scottish Parliament Building, was unfinished at the time of his death (completed in 2004).

7. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (1960 – )

Better known by his maternal surname Zapatero (literally “shoemaker,” in Spanish), is the Prime Minister of Spain. The party he leads, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), won one general election on March 14, 2004 and another on March 9, 2008. Actions of his first government have included withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq, a controversial negotiation with the armed separatist group ETA, the creation of Spanish Courts to deal with Violence against Women, legalizing same-sex marriages and a program of amnesty with illegal immigrants.

8. Garbo was the British codename of Juan Pujol García (1912-1988. ) , a double agent who played a key role in the success of Operation Fortitude, the deception operation intended to mislead the Germans about the timing and location of the invasion of Normandy towards the end of World War II. The false information Garcia supplied helped persuade German intelligence the main attack would come in the Pas de Calais, resulting in a decision to withhold troops from the area around the Normandy beachhead.

9. Óscar Pereiro Sio (1977 – ) is a professional bicyclist best known for winning the 2006 Tour de France after the original winner, Floyd Landis, was disqualified for failing a series of doping tests.

10. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) was a novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, the first modern novel, is considered a founding classic of Western literature and regularly features among the best novels ever written.