Augusto Pinochet
Pinochet was born in Valparaíso, the son of Augusto Pinochet Vera, a descendant of an 18th-century French Breton immigrant from Lamballe, and Avelina Ugarte Martínez, a woman whose family had been in Chile since the 17th century and was of partial Basque descent. Pinochet went to primary and secondary school at the San Rafael Seminary of Valparaíso, the Rafael Ariztía Institute (Marist Brothers) in Quillota, the French Fathers' School of Valparaíso, and then to the Military School in Santiago, which he entered in 1931. In 1935, after four years studying military geography he graduated with the rank of "alférez" (Second Lieutenant) in the infantry. In September 1937, Pinochet was assigned to the "Chacabuco" Regiment, in Concepción. Two years later, in 1939, then with the rank of Sub-lieutenant, he moved to the "Maipo" Regiment, garrisoned in Valparaíso. He returned to Infantry School in 1940. On 30 January 1943, Pinochet married Lucía Hiriart Rodríguez, with whom he had five children: Inés Lucía, María Verónica, Jacqueline Marie, Augusto Osvaldo and Marco Antonio.
Tancredo Pinochet
Son of a remarkable family of teachers, his father was Marcos Fidel Pinochet Espinosa, and his mother, Isabel Le-Brun Reyes, was a remarkable educator, and founder of the Institute Pinochet Le Brun.
From his childhood he had a vocation for journalism, and, as a child, created his own journals and sent his collaborations (under the pseudonym "Albert Brum") to the local newspaper, "The Authority," of Talca.
Later, while living in Europe for ten years, Pinochet wrote "Journey of Effort" and "Journey of a commoner for Europe," narrating his experiences in the continent.
On his return to Santiago, he wrote for major newspapers in the capital, particularly "The Enlightenment" magazine, "Pen and Pencil," and "The Journal," of Cruzat Poblete.
He studied at the Institute of Education, University of Chile, graduating as a professor at the Department of English in 1914.
After 1910, he lived in Buenos Aires, and in the next two decades he travelled through Latin America to lecture.