Miguel Gallo Vergara ( La Serena, 1793 -

Chañarcillo Chañarcillo is a town and mine in the Atacama Desert of Copiapó Province, Atacama Region, Chile, located near Vallenar and 60 km from Copiapó. It is noted for its silver mining. The town grew after the Chañarcillo silver mine, discovered on ...

, March 8, 1853) was a Chilean millionaire mining entrepreneur, politician and patriot. He was mayor of

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

for the year 1820, and was appointed a Deputy of the Republic of Chile representing Copiapó,

Chañaral Chañaral is a small coastal city and commune in the Atacama Region, Chile and capital of the Chañaral Province. The ocean is contaminated by the copper mining activity in the area. Just north of the city lies Pan de Azúcar National Park. It ...

and

Freirina Freirina is a Chilean commune and town in Huasco Province, Atacama Region. The commune spans an area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, Freirina had 5,666 inhabitants; of these, 3,469 (61.2%) ...

from 1849 to 1852. A pioneer of the silver mining industry in Chile, working with

Juan Godoy Juan Godoy (1800 – 1842) was a Chilean farmer and miner who in 1832 discovered an outcrop (''reventón'') of silver south of Copiapó in Chañarcillo, sparking the Chilean silver rush. Villalobos, Sergio; Silva, Osvaldo; Silva Fernando and Es ...

from 1832, he is still remembered as an illustrious figure in the

Atacama The Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau located on the Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile. Stretching over a strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of , which increases to if the barren lower slopes ...

mining industry and in the history of Copiapó.

Early life and patriotism

He was born in La Serena, the son of José Antonio Gallo y Rocalandro, a distinguished gentleman and radical of the 18th century, who was born in

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city in the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as well a ...

, Italy. His father died in 1818 at the age of 90. Gallo Vergara was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of La Serena on February 15, 1817. He played a role in securing the independence of Chile, and was appointed to the board of judges for the territorial districts of the new country. He was initially involved with regulating municipal revenues and making improvements to infrastructure. He resigned from this position on November 19, 1818, having fulfilled his duty as a patriot.

Entrepreneurship and death

Gallo Vergara sought to become an entrepreneur. He founded the copper mining company Injenio del Molle, which commenced mining operations in the Sierra de Chañarcillo. Working with

, he was notable figure in the silver mining industry in Chile which took off in 1832. Gallo Vergara was later involved in the wine industry, producing the most exquisite Atacama wines of the period. Miguel Gallo Vergara died suddenly in the town of

on March 8, 1853, leaving his vast fortune to his family. He was survived by his wife Candelaria Goyenechea Sierra and sons

Pedro León Gallo Goyenechea Pedro León Gallo Goyenechea (Copiapó, February 12, 1830 in Santiago – December 16, 1877) was a Chilean politician and one of the founders of the Radical Party. He was the son of the illustrious mining entrepreneur Miguel Gallo Vergara. He b ...

, Ángel Gallo Goyenechea and Tomás Gallo Goyenechea. Most sources claim March 8, 1842 as the date of his death, but he was known to have served as a Deputy of the Republic representing Copiapó,

and

from 1849 to 1852 as he succeeded Juan José Aldunate Larraín and was succeeded by José Francisco Gana Lópe. March 8, 1853 is now cited in genealogical records to be the accurate date of his death. He is still remembered as an illustrious figure in the Atacama mining industry and in the history of Copiapó.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallo, Miguel Chilean businesspeople in mining Chilean miners 19th-century Chilean politicians Mayors of places in Chile 1793 births 1853 deaths People from La Serena People of the Chilean War of Independence Viceroyalty of Peru people