Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, an Argentine statesman, born in San Juan de la Frontera, Feb. 15, 1811. In 1826 he became director of a school in the province of San Luis, and from 1831 to 1836 he resided in Chili. In 1836 he founded a female school at San Juan, but in 1840 again went to Chili, where he greatly promoted education, publishing many school books and establishing numerous schools and colleges, including the normal school of Santiago, and editing several periodicals, mostly educational. He was the first to publish a daily paper in Santiago. In 1845 the Chilian government sent him to Europe and the United States, to observe the primary school systems of those countries, and on his return he published a work entitled De la Education popular. Returning to the Argentine Republic, he became successively minister of the interior, colonel of the Argentine forces, governor of the province of San Juan, and minister of public instruction. He was minister plenipotentiary to the United States from 1864 to 1868, when he was elected president of the Argentine Republic, assuming office Oct. 12. During his administration the war against Paraguay was brought to a successful termination, numerous insurrections were put down, railways and telegraphs were constructed, immigration was promoted, foreign commerce encouraged and extended, schools were multiplied, a national college was established in each of the provinces, and the national observatory was founded under the supervision of Prof. B. A. Gould. Many important institutions were introduced, mainly modelled after those of the United States. His term expired in October, 1874. His most important works are: Manual de la historia de los pueblos an-tiguos; Arjirópolis, ó la capital de los Estados Confederados; Civilization i barbarie (translated into French); Viajes por Europa, Africa i América; Vida de Abran Lincoln; and Las escuelas.

The last two were published in New York.