Dr. Dámaso Centeno (10 March 1850 in

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

– 11 October 1892 in Cosquín) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

lawyer, politician and philanthropist. He was elected deputy for his province for three terms, 1882–1884, 1886–1890 and 1890–1894, the final mandate being cut short by his early and sudden death. He was the son of Dámaso Centeno senior and Cecilia Fernández. His father, a colonel in the army, was killed at the Battle of Cepeda of 1859. Following studies in law at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

, he graduated with an LLD in 1878. He created a school in

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, and then from 8 April 1891, founded an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

for children, like himself, who had lost fathers in the military. The location was the house of his mother, with financial and practical support from a group of officers' wives. This "Asilo de Huérfanos de Militares" became the basis for the government-funded Instituto Social Militar Dr. Dámaso Centeno in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

approved by the

Peronist Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, Pe ...

government in 1947.''Interpretando el plan quinquenal en sus tesis y estructura'' Page 67 Partido Peronista. Agrupación de Intelectuales - 1947 "Creación del Instituto Social Militar Dr. Dámaso Centeno. Convertido en Ley N.° 13.043. 27, 9, 47;"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Centeno, Damaso Argentine politicians 1850 births 1892 deaths Argentine philanthropists 19th-century Argentine lawyers University of Buenos Aires alumni 19th-century philanthropists