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Events on Saturday 17 August 1850 1
1778 – 1850Jose de San Martin (1778-1850)Died 17 August 1850, aged 72San Martin led the armies that won independence for Argentina, Chile, and Peru from Spanish rule. After helping liberate Peru he voluntarily relinquished power rather than contest leadership with Simon Bolivar, and spent his final decades in exile in France. He is honored across South America as one of the continent' foremost liberators.