Andrés Bello

Andrés Bello

Andrés Bello (Caracas, Venezuela, November 29,1781 – Santiago, Chile, October 15, 1865), Venezuelan humanist, poet, lawmaker, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose work constitutes an important part of Spanish American culture. Bello is featured on the 2,000 Venezuelan bolívars and the 20,000 Chilean pesos notes.

Bello studied Liberal Arts, Law and Medicine at the University of Caracas and became known for his early writings and translations, edited the Caracas Gazette and held important offices in the government of the Captaincy General of Venezuela. He accompanied Alexander von Humboldt in a part of his Latin American expedition (1800) and was for a short time Simón Bolívar's teacher.

As First Officer of the Venezuela's Foreign Secretariat after the coup on April 19, 1810, he was sent to London as Diplomatic Representative and held that office until 1813. There he meets Francisco de Miranda and becomes a frequent visitor of his library in Grafton Street, as well as of the British Museum. He carried diplomatic affairs for Chile and Colombia. As founder of the American Society, he promoted the publication of two important magazines: "The American Library" (1823, "La Biblioteca Americana") and "The American Repertoire" (1826-1827, "El Repertorio Americano"). One of his most famous poems "Silva to the Agriculture of the Torrid Zone" ("Silva a la Agricultura de la Zona Tórrida") was written in that period, in 1826. It should be part of a long epic poem, "America", which he never finished.

In 1830, he was designated Rector of the Santiago College and became founder editor of "El Araucano". He was elected Senator and held different government offices in Chile. After the foundation of the Universidad de Chile in 1842, he was its Rector for the rest of his life. Important Works in this Period include:

• 1847 Castilian Grammar Intended for the Use by Americans, the first Spanish American Grammar, with many original contributions, product of long years of study. Republished over the years with many revisions, the most significant of which are by Rufino Jose Cuervo, this is still a valuable reference work. Bello was accepted in the Spanish Royal Academy of Language as Correspondent Member in 1861.
• 1852 Civil Code, passed by Chilean Congress in 1855. He worked on this Code for 20 years.

Some Banknotes featuring Andrés Bello:

• 2,000 Venezuelan bolívares
• 20,000 Chilean Pesos