Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino (dōmēng`gō foustē`nō särmyān`tō), 1811–88, Argentine statesman, educator, and author, president of the republic (1868–74). An opponent of Juan Manuel de Rosas Rosas, Juan Manuel de (hwän mänwĕl` dā rô`säs)
..... Click the link for more information. , he spent years of exile in Chile, becoming known as a journalist and an educational reformer. He toured Europe and North America and was impressed by the school system and the political organization of the United States. He helped Urquiza Urquiza, Justo José de (h
..... Click the link for more information. to overthrow Rosas in 1852 and became active in politics. In Oct., 1868, he succeeded Bartolomé Mitre Mitre, Bartolomé (bär'tōlōmā` mē`trā)
..... Click the link for more information. as president. His administration was marked by the conclusion of the War of the Triple Alliance against Paraguay, by material progress, and, especially, by the organization of schools and the reform of educational methods. Sarmiento was succeeded by Nicolás Avellaneda Avellaneda, Nicolás (nēkōläs` ävāyänā`thä)
..... Click the link for more information. . His essays on education and politics, historical studies, and critical works are distinguished by crisp style. Best known is Facundo, o Civilización i barbarie (1845; tr. Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants, new ed. 1961), nominally a biography of Juan Facundo Quiroga Quiroga, Juan Facundo (hwän fäk
..... Click the link for more information. , but actually an in-depth study of caudillismo, personalism in politics.

Bibliography

See Sarmiento's Travels in the United States in 1847, tr. by M. A. Rockland (1970); A Sarmiento Anthology (tr. and ed. by S. E. Grummon and A. W. Bunkley, 1948); biographies by A. W. Bunkley (1952) and F. G. Crowley (1972).

Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino

(born Feb. 14, 1811, San Juan, Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata—died Sept. 11, 1888, Asunción, Para.) Educator, statesman, writer, and president of Argentina (1868–74). A rural schoolteacher, he entered provincial politics and was exiled to Chile by Juan Manuel de Rosas for his outspokenness. There he became an important figure in journalism and education. In his important book Facundo (1845), he denounced the Rosas dictatorship and the culture of the gauchos. He returned to Argentina to help overthrow Rosas in 1852. Elected president in 1868, he ended the Paraguayan War, developed the public school system, established technical and professional schools, and upheld civil liberties.