Francisco Solano López Carrillo was a Paraguayan military officer, politician and statesman who served as President of Paraguay between 1862 and 1870, of which he served mostly during the Paraguayan War (1864–1870). He succeeded his father Carlos Antonio López as the second president of Paraguay. Solano López is the only Paraguayan ruler to have been killed in action. He is one of only two Paraguayans to have received the rank of Marshal, along with José Félix Estigarribia.
López, c. 1870
Solano López around age 27, c.1854
The Throne: López and his Cabinet
The last known picture of Solano López, taken by photographer Domenico Parodi, c. 1870.
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of around 6.1 million, nearly 2.3 million of whom live in the capital and largest city of Asunción, and its surrounding metro area.
José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Paraguay's first dictator
Francisco Solano López
The Battle of Tuyutí, May 1866
Gran Chaco was the site of the Chaco War (1932–35), in which Bolivia lost most of the disputed territory to Paraguay