Who they were
The son of an Irish-born Spanish official, O’Higgins joined the fight for Chilean independence from 1810. With José de San Martín he won the campaigns that freed Chile from Spanish rule.
What they did
As supreme director from 1817, he led the new state and helped launch the naval expedition that carried the war to Peru. His reforms and centralizing style stirred opposition.
Legacy
Forced from power in 1823, O’Higgins died in exile in Peru. He remains Chile’s preeminent national hero of independence.