PATRICIO

LYNCH (1825–1886)  Chilean naval officer, was born in Valparaiso on the 18th of December 1825, his father being a wealthy Irish merchant resident in Chile, and his mother, Carmen Solo de Saldiva, a descendant of one of the best-known families in the country . Entering the navy in 1837, he took part in the operations which led to the fall of the dictator, Santa Cruz . Next, he sought a wider field, and saw active service in the China War on board the British frigate " Calliope." He was mentioned in despatches for bravery, and received the grade of midshipman in the British service . Returning to Chile in 1847 he became lieutenant, and seven years later he received the command of a frigate, but was deprived of his command for refusing to receive on board his ship political suspects under arrest . The Spanish War saw him again employed, and he was successively maritime prefect of Valparaiso, colonel of National Guards, and, finally, captain. and minister of marine in 1872 . In the Chile-Peruvian War a brilliant and destructive naval raid, led by him, was followed by the final campaign of Chorrillos and Miraflores (188o), in which he led at first a brigade (as colonel) and afterwards a division under Baquedano . His services at the battle of Chorrillos led to his appointment to command the Army of Occupation in Peru . This difficult post he filled with success, but his action in putting the Peruvian president, Garcia Calderon, under arrest excited considerable comment . His last act was to invest Iglesias with supreme power in Peru, and he returned to his own country in 1883 . Promoted rear-admiral, he served as Chilean Minister at Madrid for two years, and died at sea in 1886 . Lynch is remembered as one of the foremost of Chile's naval heroes .