Francisco Hernández de Córdoba Brito del Socorro y Nazareno

There were two Spanish conquistadores at the start of the 16th-century named Francisco Hernández de Córdoba. The one described here founded Nicaragua. The other led a 1517 expedition which provided the first European accounts of the Yucatán Peninsula: see Francisco Hernández de Córdoba (Yucatán conquistador). Neither of their birth dates are known.

Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba
Nicaraguan Postage, 1924

A statue of Francisco Hernández de Córdoba in Granada

Francisco Hernández de Córdoba ([fɾanˈθisko eɾˈnãndeθ ðe ˈkoɾðoβa]; 1475 ? - 1526) is usually reputed as the founder of Nicaragua, and in fact he founded two important Nicaraguan cities, Granada and León. The currency of Nicaragua is named the córdoba in his memory.

Córdoba was an officer of Pedro Arias Dávila, known also as Pedrarias Dávila. Hernán Cortés and Hernán Ponce de León supported Córdoba during the conquest of Nicaragua in 1524, in return for support against Cristóbal de Olid. Dávila considered Córdoba an insurrectionist and a traitor, and finally captured and beheaded him.

His remains were found in 2000 in León Viejo, Nicaragua.