Esteban de Luca

Esteban de Luca (August 2, 1786 — May 17, 1824) was an Argentine military officer, poet, and government official during the nation's early years.

Esteban de Luca y Patrón was born in Buenos Aires. His mother belonged to a wealthy creole family, and his Italian father was a colonial administrator during the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata. Educated at the Royal College of San Carlos, de Luca enlisted in the newly formed Patricios Regiment during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata of 1806 and 1807, and attained the rank of Officer.

Shortly after these incidents, in which the invasions were thwarted, de Luca enrolled in the School of Mathematics established by Manuel Belgrano, and became a skilled weapons engineer. He adapted designs for cannons, munitions, and rifles, copying these latter from weapons captured during the earlier conflict.

The May Revolution of 1810 prompted the wars for independence. The United Provinces of South America struggled to supply their troops, however, and in 1813, the Buenos Aires Munitions Works were established by the Primera Junta regime; de Luca was appointed director of the facility in 1814. One of only two such facilities (the other being in Tucumán), the munitions works forged guns, carbines, sabers, cannon, ordnance, and horseshoes mainly with salvaged scrap iron and de Luca's adaptations.

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