José Echegaray won the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature alongside Frédéric Mistral. The Swedish Academy praised Echegaray for reviving the traditions of Spanish drama through numerous brilliant and original works.
Echegaray was unusual among Nobel laureates: he was also a mathematician, civil engineer, economist, and government minister. He began writing plays relatively late, making his literary debut in 1874 at age 42, then produced roughly two plays a year for the rest of his life.
His best-known dramas include El gran Galeoto, La esposa del vengador, and Conflicto entre dos deberes. The 1904 award was equally divided, making it only the fourth Literature Prize and the first of four shared Literature awards. A common mix-up is confusing Echegaray with Benito Pérez Galdós, another major Spanish writer who was widely expected to receive the prize.