José Agustín de Dios Edwards Ossandón (May 20, 1815 – September 1878) was a Chilean politician and businessman, and one of the main forces behind the early railroad construction in South America. Agustín Edwards was born in La Serena, the son of George Edwards Brown and Isabel Ossandón Iribarren. At the age of 19, he started to manage the silver smelting operations owned by his father in the cities of

Vallenar Vallenar is a city and commune in Atacama Region, Chile. It is the capital of the Huasco Province and is located in the valley of the Huasco River. Vallenar has 52,000 inhabitants. Its main activities are farming and mining. It was founded as ...

and

Freirina Freirina is a Chilean commune and town in Huasco Province, Atacama Region. The commune spans an area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, Freirina had 5,666 inhabitants; of these, 3,469 (61.2%) ...

. In 1837, by the age of 22, he became independent and moved to the city of

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

, with a small capital he had managed to save. In 1849 he founded the Bank of Valparaíso. He married Juana Ross Edwards on April 6, 1851, with whom he had eight children. He was an active promoter of the railroads in South America. He worked in the construction of the Copiapó-Caldera railway, the first Chilean railroad (and one of the first in Latin America) that was inaugurated on December 25, 1851. He then concentrated on the nitrate exploitation. He became president of the Nitrate Company, and began the studies for a railroad between

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. He was elected to the lower house of parliament on 1861, and then again in 1873. In 1876, he was elected a Senator for Valparaiso, a position he held until his death. He died in the city of

Limache Limache is a town and commune in Marga Marga Province, Valparaíso Region, Chile. It is the only Chilean commune with two urban areas: San Francisco de Limache on the north side of the Pelumpén stream, and Limache Viejo on the south. Limache i ...

in 1878.

References

1815 births 1878 deaths People from La Serena People from Coquimbo People from Elqui Province Chilean people of English descent A Members of the Senate of Chile Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile {{Chile-Deputy-stub

See also

References