Recaredo Santos Tornero facts for kids

Recaredo Santos Tornero (born October 14, 1842 – died July 26, 1902) was an important Chilean editor and journalist. He was in charge of the famous newspaper El Mercurio de Valparaíso and also started another newspaper called El Comercio.

Early Life and Education

Recaredo Tornero was born in Valparaíso, Chile, on October 14, 1842. His parents were Carmen Olmos de Aguilera Orrego and José Santos Tornero Monteros. His father was a Spanish immigrant who owned the first public library in Chile.

Recaredo went to school at the National Institute of Santiago. Later, he studied in France at the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris. He returned to Chile in 1860.

Family and Business

In 1866, Recaredo took over from his father as the director of El Mercurio de Valparaíso. He married Elena Stuven Olmos. They had four children: Carmela, Recaredo, Teresa, and Enrique.

His father's businesses included the Spanish Library (Spanish: Librería Española). He also owned the printing house for El Mercurio newspaper. The family owned these businesses for 33 years. In 1866, Recaredo and his brother Orestes bought the businesses from their father.

Orestes managed the library and other parts of the business. Recaredo continued to run the printing house and the newspaper. Later, they created a company called Tornero & Sons Society (Spanish: Sociedad Tornero e Hijos) with their father.

Leading El Mercurio

Recaredo Tornero was the only editor of El Mercurio de Valparaíso from 1867 to 1870. In 1870, he worked with Camilo Letelier. Later, Blanco Cuartín became the main editor. He suggested that the newspaper should focus more on culture and literacy.

Front page of Chile Ilustrado (1872).

In 1872, Recaredo published Chile Ilustrado. This was the first illustrated album about Chile. It included a guide, historical facts, and information about the country's industry and society. It also had more than 200 wood engravings and 10 lithographs. This book won a prize at the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition.

After running the newspaper for nine years, Recaredo sold his share to Camilo Letelier. In 1875, he traveled to Europe again. There, he bought machines to build the first paper mill in Chile in 1880. Around that time, he also started publishing foreign books translated into Spanish.

Later Ventures and El Comercio

After returning to Valparaíso, Tornero opened a new library and printing house in Almendral. His brother Orestes passed away in 1881. Recaredo then took over the Mercurio library. This library mainly focused on publishing teaching materials and books translated from French.

President José Manuel Balmaceda had a difficult relationship with the Chilean press. To support the president, Recaredo started a new newspaper called El Comercio.

Recaredo Santos Tornero died in Santiago on July 26, 1902.

See also

In Spanish: Recaredo Santos Tornero para niños