Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino, 1811-1888

"Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (San Juan, Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata, 15 de febrero de 1811-Asunción, Paraguay, 11 de septiembre de 1888) fue un político, escritor, docente, periodista, militar y estadista argentino; gobernador de la provincia de San Juan entre 1862 y 1864, presidente de la Nación Argentina entre 1868 y 1874, senador nacional por su provincia entre 1874 y 1879 y ministro del Interior en 1879. Considerado como uno de los grandes prosistas castellanos, se destacó tanto por su laboriosa lucha en la educación pública como en contribuir al progreso científico y cultural de su país. En 1947 la Conferencia Interamericana de Educación estableció como Día Panamericano del Maestro el 11 de septiembre, fecha de su fallecimiento y en homenaje a su figura de educador."

"Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (February 15, 1811 - September 11, 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the seventh President of Argentina. His writing spanned a wide range of genres and topics, from journalism to autobiography, to political philosophy and history. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the Generation of 1837, who had a great influence on nineteenth-century Argentina. He was particularly concerned with educational issues and was also an important influence on the region's literature. Sarmiento grew up in a poor but politically active family that paved the way for much of his future accomplishments. Between 1843 and 1850 he was frequently in exile, and wrote in both Chile and in Argentina. His greatest literary achievement was Facundo, a critique of Juan Manuel de Rosas, that Sarmiento wrote while working for the newspaper El Progreso during his exile in Chile. The book brought him far more than just literary recognition; he expended his efforts and energy on the war against dictatorships, specifically that of Rosas, and contrasted enlightened Europe-a world where, in his eyes, democracy, social services, and intelligent thought were valued-with the barbarism of the gaucho and especially the caudillo, the ruthless strongmen of nineteenth-century Argentina. While president of Argentina from 1868 to 1874, Sarmiento championed intelligent thought-including education for children and women-and democracy for Latin America. He also took advantage of the opportunity to modernize and develop train systems, a postal system, and a comprehensive education system. He spent many years in ministerial roles on the federal and state levels where he travelled abroad and examined other education systems. Sarmiento died in Asunción, Paraguay, at the age of 77 from a heart attack. He was buried in Buenos Aires. Today, he is respected as a political innovator and writer."