Arturo Merino Benítez (April 17, 1888 in

Chillán Chillán () is the capital city of the Ñuble Region in the Diguillín Province of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of the new Ñuble Region since 6 Sept ...

, Ñuble Province – May 2, 1970 in

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, whose ...

), was an aviator with rank of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

, and the founder of both the

Chilean Air Force "With full speed to the stars" , colours = Indigo White , colours_label = , march = Alte Kameraden , mascot = , anniversaries = 21 March ...

(1930) and

LAN Chile LATAM Airlines Chile (formerly LAN Airlines and LAN-Chile) is an airline based in Santiago, Chile, one of the founders of LATAM Airlines Group, Latin America's largest airline holding company. The main hub is Arturo Merino Benítez Internationa ...

(1929) the national airline. Chile's largest airport was named in his honour,

Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Arturo Merino Benítez) , also known as Santiago International Airport and Nuevo Pudahuel Airport, located in Pudahuel, north-west of downtown Santiago, is Chile's lar ...

. His parents were Pedro Merino Feliú and Clorinda Benítez Labbé. He died from a stroke at age 82, his remains are at the

Cementerio General de Santiago The Santiago General Cemetery ( es, Cementerio General de Santiago) in Santiago, Chile, is one of the largest cemeteries in Latin America with an estimated two million burials. The cemetery was established in 1821 after Chile's independence when B ...

Bibliography

Biografía ICARITO ''ICARITO biography''Fundación Arturo Merino B. ''Arturo Merino B. Foundation''
1888 births 1970 deaths People from Chillán Chilean aviators Aviation pioneers {{aviation-bio-stub