born probably Aug. 20, 1776/78, Chillán, Chile, Viceroyalty of La Plata
died October 1842, Peru
South American revolutionary leader and first Chilean head of state (181723).
The illegitimate son of a Spanish officer of Irish origin, he was educated in Peru, Spain, and England, where his Chilean nationalism was awakened. When Napoleon invaded Spain (1808) and Spanish control of Chile relaxed, he became a member of Chile's new congress. He led the defensive forces when Chile was invaded by royalists from Peru in 1814; defeated, he fled to Argentina. He returned in 1817 with José de San Martín and defeated the Spanish. Elected supreme director of Chile, he established a working governmental organization, but his reforms antagonized conservatives and he resigned.