18 Facts About Severo Melgarejo

Severo Melgarejo Rojas was a Bolivian military officer, business man and guano magnate.

Severo Melgarejo was the son of the President of Bolivia, Mariano Melgarejo, and his wife Rosa Rojas.

Severo Melgarejo was considered a traitor by most Bolivians of his day on account of his taking Chilean citizenship.

Severo Melgarejo was the second son of future Bolivian president Mariano Melgarejo.

Severo Melgarejo's father was absent throughout the majority of his life so he was raised by his mother.

Severo Melgarejo spent most of his youth in Tarata, where he grew close to Manuel Terrazas, a military officer during the War of the Pacific.

The one influence his father did have in his life was his entrance into the Bolivian Army when Severo Melgarejo was fourteen in 1856.

Severo Melgarejo was noted, in juxtaposition to his father, as a generous and calm man.

Just as Mariano Severo Melgarejo had help toppling Cordova and Linares, he would now directly depose President Acha.

Once Mariano Melgarejo was ousted in 1871, Severo Melgarejo remained in Bolivia.

Severo Melgarejo would be the owner of several lands and businesses in Paraguay.

The Bolivian press vilified Severo Melgarejo, slandering his name as a traitor and the son of Bolivia's worst president.

Unwelcome by his hostile native land, Severo Melgarejo opted to move to Santiago, where the headquarters of his business empire would be based.

Severo Melgarejo was to spend the rest of his life away from Bolivia.

Severo Melgarejo died on March 3,1905, in the capital city of Chile, Santiago.

Severo Melgarejo died considered a traitor by the people of his country and forever carried the negative legacy of his father with him.

Severo Melgarejo was married to the sister of Juana and Aurelio Sanchez, Rosaura, with whom he had one child: Alfonso.

The marriage was annulled later and Severo Melgarejo married his second wife, Helena Allende.