Ramón Cañas
Ramón Cañas Montalva (26 February 1896 – 12 August 1977) was a Chilean Army general who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army from August 1947 to October 1949.
He was also an advocate of Chilean sovereignty in the country's southern territories and the Chilean Antarctic Territory.
Early life
Cañas was born in Santiago, Chile, on 26 February 1896. He entered the Military Academy in 1910, graduating as an infantry officer with the highest seniority in his class.
Military career
Cañas's first assignment was with the 10th Infantry Regiment Pudeto. In 1916, he was transferred to the Magallanes Infantry Battalion, where he served for two years. During this period, he was appointed to the commission organized in connection with the rescue of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, which was carried out by the Chilean vessel Yelcho.
In 1920, Cañas travelled to Sweden for further military training and served as military attaché there. He also undertook military missions in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden. After returning to Chile, he was assigned to the Military Academy as an instructor and was promoted to captain, commanding a company of cadets.
Cañas subsequently attended the Chilean Army War Academy. He later returned to Magallanes, where, holding the rank of major, he conceived the idea of reconstructing Fuerte Bulnes. He was later appointed deputy director of the Military Academy in Santiago.
As a colonel, Cañas was appointed commander of the Pudeto Regiment. He also served as commander of the Austral Military Region and the V Army Division, which he organized and commanded. In 1946, he was appointed a member of the Chilean Antarctic Committee under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also founded the geographical journal Terra Australis.
After his promotion to general, Cañas served as commander-in-chief of the II Army Division and commander-general of the Santiago Garrison. He subsequently served as director of the Military Geographic Institute and president of the Chilean-Argentine Boundary Commission.
On 2 August 1947, Cañas was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army. During his tenure, he organized and directed Chilean activities associated with the country's assertion of sovereignty over the Chilean Antarctic Territory. He also prepared President Gabriel González Videla's journey to Antarctica and inaugurated General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme Base on 18 February 1948. He later published a work titled Base O'Higgins, Territorio Antártico Chileno.
Cañas left the command of the Army on 8 October 1949 and retired from active military service.
Later life
Following his retirement, Cañas became a member of the governing council of the Scientific Society of Chile and served as president of the Chilean National Committee for the International Geophysical Year. He founded the Risopatrón Scientific Base and served as a member of the Chilean Antarctic Commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 1957, representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cañas served as Chile's sole delegate to the World Antarctic Conference in Stockholm, Sweden.
Cañas died in Santiago, Chile, on 12 August 1977, aged 81.