José Gervasio Artigas

Born in Montevideo, Artigas enlisted in the Spanish army in 1797 and fought against the British during the Anglo-Spanish War. When the Spanish-American wars of independence began, he supported the Primera Junta in Buenos Aires in its fight against Spain. Artigas defeated the Spanish royalists at Las Piedras and laid siege to Montevideo but was forced to retreat due to Portuguese intervention.

Later, Artigas broke away from the centralist government in Buenos Aires and seized control of Montevideo in 1815. He played a key role in establishing the Federal League, a coalition of six provinces governed under a federal system. In 1816, the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves invaded the Banda Oriental, eventually annexing it as a province. Forced into exile, Artigas sought refuge in Paraguay, where he lived until his death in 1850.

His remains were reinterred at Montevideo's Central Cemetery in 1855 and transferred to the Artigas Mausoleum in 1977.