Carlos Dávila
Chilean political figure, journalist, and OAS secretary general
Carlos Gregorio Dávila Espinoza (September 15, 1887 – October 19, 1955) was a Chilean political figure, journalist, chairman of the Government Junta of Chile in 1932, and secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) from 1954 until his death in 1955.
Quick Facts
- Key era
- 1920s - 1950s
Lore & Background
Dávila was born in Los Ángeles, Chile, to Luis Dávila and Emilia Espinoza. He graduated from the University of Santiago, Chile, in 1907, and later studied law at the University of Chile but dropped out in 1914. He worked for El Mercurio, founded La Nación, and in 1932 founded the magazine Hoy. He served as Chilean ambassador to the United States from 1927 to 1931, and was a member of the Government Junta of Chile in 1932, serving as its president from June 16 and then as Provisional President until September 13. He later served as visiting professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, received the Maria Moors Cabot Award in 1941, and authored 'We of the Americas' in 1949. He contributed to the founding of the OAS and became its secretary general in August 1954.
Did You Know?
- Dávila received honorary LL.D. degrees from Columbia University and the University of Southern California in 1929.
- Dávila died on October 19, 1955, 14 months into his service as OAS secretary general.
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