Manuel Blanco Encalada

Born in Buenos Aires which was the capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, Blanco Encalada was the son of the Spanish Manuel Lorenzo Blanco Cicerón and of the Chilean Mercedes Calvo de Encalada y Recabarren. He was trained for the navy in Spain. Later, during the Chilean War of Independence, he joined the Chilean forces, where he served with distinction under Lord Cochrane and rose to rank of Vice-Admiral and commander of the Chilean forces in (1825), where he participated in the capture of Chiloé. The following year, Congress elected him to the newly established position of President of the Republic. He soon had several fights with Congress, which was trying to install a federalist system, and resigned within two months.

Later, he joined the wars against the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation and Spain (1865–1866). After the war, he became Governor of Valparaíso and minister to France. He was also an active Freemason. Blanco Encalada died in Santiago de Chile at the age of 86.