
Juan Martín de Pueyrredón
'Juan Martín de Pueyrredón y O'Dogan' (
December 18,
1776 –
March 13,
1850) was an
Argentine general and politician of the early 19th century.
Pueyrredón was born in
Buenos Aires, where he was educated at the Royal College, which he left in 1791 to assume the responsibilities for the family business after his father's death. In 1795, he went to
Cádiz, Spain, and spent the following years travelling through
Spain and
France.
When the
British occupied Buenos Aires in
1806, Pueyrredón fled to the countryside and rallied a volunteer force which eventually recaptured the city. In 1807 he was sent as representative of
Buenos Aires to Spain again, but returned in 1809 via
Brazil to Buenos Aires, where he subsequently participated in the independentist movement. After the
May Revolution of
1810, which gave birth to the first local government junta, he was appointed governor of
Córdoba, and in 1812 he became the leader of the independent forces and a member of the short-lived
First Triumvirate. From 1812 to
1815, he was exiled in
San Luis.
In
1816, Pueyrredón was elected
Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. He strongly supported
José de San Martín's military campaign in
Chile, and also founded the first national bank of Argentina and the national mint. After the declaration of a
Unitarian constitution, revolts forced him to resign as Supreme Director in 1819 and go into exile in
Montevideo. He subsequently played a very small role in politics, most notably serving in 1829 as a mediator between
Juan Manuel de Rosas and
Juan Lavalle.
Pueyrredón was married to María Calixta Tellechea y Caviedes. Their only son, famous painter and civil engineer
Prilidiano, was born in Buenos Aires on
January 24,
1823. From 1835 to
1849, Pueyrredón and his family lived in Europe. He died in retirement on his ranch in
San Isidro, Buenos Aires.
See also
★
List of Presidents of Argentina
External links
★
Biography at ''Virtual American Biographies''.
★
Biography by José M. Carcione (PDF file).
★
Short biography at ''Biografías y Vidas''.