Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was on born February 14, 1811, in San Juan. He was outspoken about dictatorships and exiled to Chile in 1840 by Juan Manuel de Rosas (dictator of Argentina for 17 years). Sarimento wrote a book about de Rosas, Facundo.

We stumbled upon his home after lunch at a Lebanese restaurant. We were looking for the tourist office and Sarmiento’s home was right there. His home was on my list of things to check out. We see his name around a lot when in Argentina so I was curious.

Sarimento believed in critical thinking for women and children. He was part of a group of intellectuals, known as the Generation of 1837. He traveled the world researching the best education system for Argentina and settled on the American model. He’s known as The Father of Education in Argentina. He passed a law making it mandatory that all kids attend primary school.

He was self taught and became as rural schoolmaster at 15. Even though he was born into a poor family, they were very politically active. He was influenced by his family especially his parents who he saw as very hardworking. His father, José Clemente Quiroga Sarmiento, was a solider in the Independence War and his mother lost her father young. His mother, Doña Paula Zoila de Albarracín e Irrázaba, sold her weavings for income and she eventually bought a house. Sarimento’s father and uncle taught him to read. His uncle was the Bishop of Cuyo. His mother wanted him to study to be a priest but he found religious studies boring.

Sarimento was a Freemason! That’s a fun fact I wasn’t expecting that but guess Freemasons are everywhere. I have to dig into this more for our next Argentine trip. I heard about the Freemasons growing up and was always mystified by them.

He built roads and infrastructure, hospitals and public buildings. He pushed for modernizing the country. Sarmiento did a lot for Argentina but he wasn’t a popular president. He inherited the war with Paraguay which wasn’t a popular war (it ended in 1870). The people were mad at him for not fighting for the Straits of Magellan from Chile. People also weren’t happy he increased spending even though he did raise productivity.

In May 1888, Sarmiento left for Paraguay. On September 11 1888, he died in Asunción, Paraguay from a heart attack. He’s buried in Recoletta Cemetery in Buenos Aires (one of our favorite cemeteries in the world).