Tomás Godoy Cruz (May 6, 1791 – May 15, 1852) was an Argentine statesman and businessman. He was a representative to the

Congress of Tucumán The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on July 9, 1816, fro ...

which on July 9, 1816 declared the Independence of Argentina. Godoy Cruz was born in Mendoza. He studied in Mendoza, then in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

at the

Royal University of San Felipe The Royal University of San Felipe ( es, Real Universidad de San Felipe) was a university created by Philip V of Spain, King Philip V in 1738, in territory which was then part of the Kingdom of Spain. It was officially founded in Santiago in 1747 ...

, graduating in philosophy, canonical and civil law. He lived in Chile until 1814, and served in the

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Cabildo (council) A cabildo () or ayuntamiento () was a Spanish colonial, and early post-colonial, administrative council which governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected; but they were considered to be representative of all ...

during the last year of his stay. He then returned to Mendoza, setting up a

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

factory. He agitated to make General

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and centr ...

governor of Cuyo, and helped finance the

Army of the Andes The Army of the Andes ( es, Ejército de los Andes) was a military force created by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Argentina) and mustered by general José de San Martín in his campaign to free Chile from the Spanish Empire. In 181 ...

. In 1815, at just 24 years old, Godoy Cruz was elected by Mendoza to the Tucumán Congress and served in 1816 for the declaration. He was president on two occasions and vice-president on one. He subsequently served as governor of

Mendoza Province Mendoza, officially Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the republic o ...

1820–22. In 1831 he was exiled to Chile where he was a teacher and pioneered silkworm cultivation. He was also a successful merchant of woven goods. The city of Godoy Cruz and its surrounding department in Mendoza, and streets across the country were named in his honour.

References

Profile
by the Mendoza Province education portal 1791 births 1852 deaths People from Mendoza, Argentina Argentine people of Spanish descent University of Chile alumni Members of the Congress of Tucumán Governors of Mendoza Province People of the Argentine War of Independence Argentine businesspeople {{Argentina-politician-stub