Hernán Pujato (19042003) was an Argentinian military general, diplomat, and explorer. He founded the first

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

bases for his country, and founded the Instituto Antártico Argentino. Through this institute, Pujato attempted to colonize Antarctica, with the assistance of President

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...

Early life

Pujato was the son of José Diego Pujato and Martina García. He was born in Diamante, Entre Ríos on the same year that Argentina opened the first permanent base on Antarctica,

Orcadas Base ) , subdivision_type4 = Location , subdivision_name4 = Laurie Island , established_title1 = Established , established_date1 = 1903 , established_title2 = Founded , established_date2 = , elevation_m ...

on Laurie Island. After his early education in Diamante, Entre Ríos, he went to secondary school in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. He then studied at the Colegio Militar de la Nación in Buenos Aires.

Military career

By 1949, Pujato was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. This year, he presented a plan for Antarctica to president

. Pujato proposed creating a scientific institute for research purposes and establishing scientific and population bases in Antarctica. Perón's initial interest led to Pujato visiting the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

to study survival in extreme latitudes. By 1951, Pujato was ready to attempt building a new settlement. With the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

, Pujato hired the ''Santa Micaela''. Commanded by Overseas Captain Santiago Farrell, it was a cargo ship belonging to the Argentine shipping company Pérez Companc S. A. The ''Santa Micaela'' left the port of

on 12 February 1951, and on 8 March it anchored at

Marguerite Bay Marguerite Bay or Margaret Bay is an extensive bay on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is bounded on the north by Adelaide Island and on the south by Wordie Ice Shelf, George VI Sound and Alexander Island. The mainland coast on th ...

. The settlement,

San Martín Base ("Willing men, fight and win since 1951") , anthem = , pushpin_map = Antarctica , pushpin_map_alt = Location within Antarctica , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Antarctica , pushpin_mapsize ...

was a success, and still stands today. It was the first human settlement south of the

Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. S ...

. For his success, Pujato was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and saw the foundation of the Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA). The next year, Pujato founded

Belgrano I base Belgrano I Base ( es, Base Belgrano I) was a permanent, all year-round Argentine Antarctic base and scientific research station, located on Piedrabuena Bay on the Filchner Ice Shelf. It was named after General Manuel Belgrano, one of the Libert ...

in Argentina, which stood until 1980. This was the most southerly station in the world at the time. From this station, Pujato and others flew reconnaissance in the area. For this work, Pujato was promoted to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

. Pujato's career ended abruptly in 1955. President Perón lost power in the

Revolución Libertadora ''Revolución Libertadora'' (; ''Liberating Revolution'') was the coup d'état that ended the second presidential term of Juan Perón in Argentina, on 16 September 1955. Background President Perón was first elected in 1946. In 1949, a ...

, and the new government, led by Pedro Eugenio Aramburu, forced Pujato to retire. Pujato played no major roles in Argentina after this. During the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

, the 78-year old retired general offered to play a

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

-type role against the British ship HMS ''Invincible'', but was refused.

References

Bibliography

* Fontana, Luis Roberto. ''Rememoración Histórica 50 años de la Base San Martín''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pujato, Hernan Argentine generals Explorers of Antarctica 1904 births 2003 deaths

Early life

Military career

See also

References

Bibliography