Luis A. Eguiguren
Luis Antonio Eguiguren Escudero (July 21, 1887 in Piura – August 15, 1967 in Lima) was a Peruvian educator, magistrate, historian and politician. He was the director of the General Archive (File) of the Nation (1914), Alderman of Lima (1914–1920), Mayor of Lima (1930), President of the Constituent Congress (1930–1932), founder and leader of the Social Democratic Party. He won the of 1936, but his victory was ignored by the Congress and the then-President Oscar R. Benavides, who claimed that he had won with votes of the APRA. He presided over the Supreme Court and the Judiciary  in 1953 and 1954. Biography. Luis A. Eguiguren was born in the historical San Francisco Street (now Lima Street), in the city of Piura. He was the son of , honest judge, congressman, Secretary of Justice and President of the Supreme Court in 1913 and 1914, and the distinguished lady Josefina Escudero Menacho. Between 1893 and 1902, he studied at School and then at Colegio La Inmaculada(The Jesuit Fathers School) in Lima (1902–1904). He got into the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, where he chose the academic degrees of Doctor of Letters (1913), in Jurisprudence with the thesis "The Peruvian  ayllu legal status" (1914), and Political and Administrative Science (1914). His thesis of Bachelor of Political and Administrative Sciences was titled: "The Role of students in Political life”, and his doctoral thesis: "The need for a diplomatic tradition in Peru". His remains were transferred to his native Piura in December 2005, in order to rest in the tomb that he ordered to be built in San Teodoro Cemetery. Law No. 24899, promulgated on October 19, 1988, establishes that each July 21 is the Peruvian Humanist Day. It was established in honor of the magistrate, historian, journalist and Peruvian politician, Don  Luis Antonio Eguiguren, on the centenary of his birth. Career. He was appointed Director of the , but he resigned because he did not receive enough support to carry out the institution that was under his charge. In the field of politics, he deployed an intense task. He was the Mayor of Lima in a short period of time, during the years of 1930 and 1931. He was elected deputy and later he presided over the Constituent Assembly. He was also president of the Supreme Court of the Republic. In 1936 he ran for president in the Peruvian General Election as  leader of the , after being convinced by the APRA to form his own party, to the detriment of Manuel Prado's . As the votes were being counted, Eguiguren appeared to be leading with a majority; the vote being finally suspended on October 21 (on the basis that members of the previously banned APRA party had voted for him) which left Eguiguren with 37.13% of the votes in comparison to Prado's 25.00%. However, due to the environment of political intolerance in Perú, the elections were nullified on the same arguments that the count was suspended: according to the government, aprist  support of his candicacy rendered his victory null (as he was supported by a party considered illegal for being an "international party"). After his frustrated precedency, he further developed a liking for historical research with dynamism and conviction, which perhaps explains the abundant and interesting bibliographical production of his authorship. Besides, we must highlight their work and research for the construction of the history of his alma mater, San Marcos. "Orígenes de la Universidad de San Marcos" is the title of a valuable text that all "sanmarquinos" should read in order to learn more about the oldest American college. Other  of the books he also published were "Catálogo histórico del claustro de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos 1576–1800", "La Universidad de San Marcos: IV centenario de la fundación de la Universidad Real y Pontificia y de su vigorosa continuidad histórica", y "Diccionario cronológico de la Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Marcos y sus Colegios", vol I, vol.II and vol.III. He is the most prolific San Marcos historian, because he has written six thousand pages of documents and texts about his university. He chaired the Committee appointed to draft the official history of San Marcos, on  the occasion of its four hundred year anniversary in 1951. Luis A. Eguiguren was interested also on events and characters of Peru's Independence. Therefore, he published studies about "La rebelión de León de Huánuco", "Lima y Huamanga −1812", "La revolución de 1814", "El mártir pescador José Silverio Olaya", "La sublevación de Túpac Amaru", among others. He made an important contribution to the text "Apuntes sobre la cuestión internacional entre Perú y Ecuador", in which he demonstrated that some Peru's northern territories, like Jaen and Maynas, undoubtedly belong to his country. Luis A. Eguiguren is the only Peruvian to  lead the three branches of government, the Constituent Congress (1930–1932), the Supreme Court (1953–1954) and the failed Presidency (1936). Honours. He was named Doctor Honoris Causa of the following universities: