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Agustín Arturo Prat Chacón (April 3, 1848, near Ninhue, Chile – May 21, 1879, Iquique, Peru) was a Chilean lawyer and navy officer. He was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor ''Huáscar'' at the Naval Battle of Iquique after the ship under his command, the ''Esmeralda'', was rammed by the Peruvian monitor. Prat, as captain of the Esmeralda, was the first to board the Huáscar. During his career, Prat had taken part in several major naval engagements, including battles at Papudo (a coastal city north of Valparaíso) (1865), and at the Battle of Abtao (1866), at the islet of Abtao across from Chiloé Island. Following his death, his name became a rallying cry for Chilean forces, and Arturo Prat has since been considered a national hero. Prat's name is commemorated on numerous plazas (squares), streets, buildings and other structures in Chile. His name has been commemorated by four of Chile's major warships, including a USS Brooklyn class cruiser in the 1950s, a British County class destroyer from 1983 to 2006, and most recently a Dutch Jacob van Heemskerck class frigate transferred to Chile as ''Capitan Prat'' in 2006. One of Chile's Antarctic research facilities, Arturo Prat Station, and the Chilean Naval Academy, Escuela Naval Arturo Prat are named after him. His portrait appears on the 10,000 Chilean peso bank note. Also, in 1984 Arturo Prat University was founded, with its main campus in Iquique where his heroic deed took place. == Early life == Prat, the oldest of five brothers, (Ricardo, Rodolfo, Atala Rosa and Escilda Aurelia) son of Agustín Prat del Barril and Rosario Chacón Barrios, was born at the San Agustín de Puñual Hacienda in south-central Chile on April 3, 1848. The name Prat is of Catalan origin (not to be confused with the English 'Pratt'). He entered the Naval Academy on August 28, 1858 at the age of 10 years thanks to one of the scholarships created by President Manuel Montt. There were two scholarships per province: one for Arauco went to Prat, and the other went to Luis Uribe. Both had the same benefactor, Don Jacinto Chacón (uncle of Arturo and stepfather of Uribe), resulting in the two youths considering each other as brothers. At the time, the academy was directed by the Frenchman Juan Julio Feillet and was backed by another Frenchman, Anatolio Desmadryl. Young Arturo and his friend Luis were part of the so-called "class of the heroes" including Carlos Condell, Juan José Latorre, and Jorge Montt Álvarez. During his first year, Prat was often distracted and struggled in his studies, especially mathematics. Nevertheless, just as he had in his previous school, he overcame these difficulties and went on to win a silver medal for his accomplishments. In 1859, his second year as a cadet, he commenced a nautical apprenticeship – a requirement for second-year students. His first voyage of training was completed in the steamer ''Independencia'', with sail and rigging maneuvers, followed later by practice in seamanship and artillery. In January 1860, Arturo Prat boarded, for the first time, the "Esmeralda", the ship which would be the scene of his glory. His nautical apprenticeship continued: embarkation and disembarkation, combat simulation, etc. In July 1861, he left the Naval Academy as "''primera antigüedad''" (the most distinguished in the course). He obtained the grade of "midshipman without examination". During this period, Prat distinguished himself in an incident involving the ''Infernal'', a French ship that was carrying explosive materials. On October 1, 1861, it (fittingly) caught on fire while in the Bay of Valparaíso. The ''Esmeralda'', which was nearby, sent boats to save the wreck, one of which was steered by Arturo Prat, who would struggle for two hours against the fire. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Arturo Prat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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