Tomás Burgos Sotomayor (Osorno

Osorno, Chile

Osorno is a city and commune in southern Chile and capital of Osorno Province in the Los Lagos Region. It had a population of 145,475, as of the 2002 census...

, September 18, 1875 – Valdivia, August 19, 1945) was a Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

, one of the strongest supporters of the "mutualist movement" and the founder of "Villa Lo Burgos", the present city of Purranque.

He was the son of Bartolo Burgos and Vicenta Sotomayor, from the line of old families that repopulated Osorno in the 18th century. He studied in the "Liceo Alemán de Osorno" (German school of Osorno), and started to work very young in a law office. Since very young he also participated in social and musical clubs. In 1891 he joined the then fledging mutualist movement in Chile, and became one of the founders of the "Sociedad Unión de Artesanos de Osorno" (Society of Artisans of Osorno - a union of workers that provided welfare benefits to its members), of which he was president several times.

On April 18, 1911 he founded Villa Lo Burgos de Purranquil, in a plot of land along the railroad line between the cities of Osorno

Osorno, Chile

Osorno is a city and commune in southern Chile and capital of Osorno Province in the Los Lagos Region. It had a population of 145,475, as of the 2002 census...

 and Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region. The commune spans an area of and had a population of 175,938 in 2002. It is located 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago...

. After many problems, he managed to plan and build the city, helped to bring the first settlers, and organized the first institutions. With time this hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 grew to become the present city of Purranque. He married Sofía Rosas Durán, daughter of Felix Rosas Manrique de Lara, and had four children: Victor, Pedro, Francisco and Pablo. He died in the city of Valdivia, in 1945, at the age of 70.