Luis Jorge Fontana, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Luis Jorge Fontana

Argentine Army officer, explorer, writer

Date of Birth: 19-Apr-1846

Place of Birth: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Date of Death: 18-Oct-1920

Profession: writer, military personnel, geographer, explorer

Nationality: Argentina

Zodiac Sign: Aries


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About Luis Jorge Fontana

  • Luis Jorge Fontana (born April 19, 1846 in Buenos Aires, Argentina; died October 18, 1920 in San Juan, Argentina) was an Argentine military officer, explorer, geographer, writer, and politician.
  • He was the first governor of the national territory of Chubut (now Chubut Province) and founder of the city of Formosa. Fontana was born in Buenos Aires on April 19, 1846.
  • His father was an official in the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas.
  • When Fontana was young, his family moved to Carmen de Patagones.
  • At age thirteen, Fontana entered the Military Command of Río Negro as a trainee; he later fought in the Paraguayan War.
  • After the war ended, he lived for a time in Buenos Aires, where he studied natural sciences, astronomy, and physics under Hermann Burmeister.
  • He then returned to the army, and he was deployed on border expeditions exploring the Gran Chaco.
  • During one expedition, he lost his left arm in a violent encounter with an indigenous group in the region.
  • In 1879, Fontana founded the city of Formosa, and he was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel.
  • He then returned to Patagonia, which he had visited as a child, and in 1884 he was named the first governor of the national territory of Chubut.
  • There he directed the expedition to the west with an exploratory group named the Chubut Riflement (Rifleros del Chubut), which discovered the October 16 Valley (Valle 16 de Octubre), a fertile area in the foothills that would later be the site of the Welsh colony of Trevelin.
  • Fontana spent his later years in San Juan, where he held various public and community offices.
  • He died on October 18, 1920.

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