Melitón Carvajal

Manuel Melitón Carvajal Ambulodegui (March 10, 1847 in Lima – September 19, 1935 in Lima), was a Peruvian naval commander and government official who was part of the crew of the ironclad Huáscar during the War of the Pacific. He was wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of Angamos and became a national hero. He later held numerous government posts and supervised the buildup of the Peruvian Navy. Melitón Carvajal National College, located in Lince District, was named in his honor.

He was the son of a Colombian doctor, Manuel Ignacio Carvajal, and his wife María del Pilar Ambulodegui. He studied at the College of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Lima, and entered the Naval College in 1860, where he graduated as an Officer Cadet in 1863. He remained there as a professor of arithmetic and geography and, the following year, he was awarded the rank of Ensign. He joined Colonel Mariano Ignacio Prado's coup and fought at the Battle of Callao, after which he was promoted to First Lieutenant.

Beginning in 1867, he served as Captain of the Port in several locations and explored the Marañón and Huallaga rivers on board the gunboat Napo, conquering the treacherous Pongo de Manseriche. In 1872, he was one of the officers on board the frigate Apurímac, when the naval commanders signed a manifesto declaring their opposition to the coup led by Tomás Gutiérrez. During a term as Sub-director of the Naval College, he served on a commission to measure the depth of guano deposits along the coast (1875-1876).

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