Víctor Chávarri Salazar (1854-1900)
He was born in the street ‘Calle del Medio’ in Portugalete, which today bears his name. He finished in 1878 his career of Civil Engineering of Arts and Manufactures in Liège. He died at the age of 45. Despite having died so young, he became one of the most influential figures of the economy and industry in the Basque Country of the late nineteenth century.
He was also one of those who signed the «Loma Pact» after the strike of 1890.
He founded the factory «La Vizcaya», which, together with «Altos Hornos de Bilbao» and «La Iberia», constituted «Altos Hornos de Vizcaya» in 1902. He participated in numerous mining, industrial, railway, real estate, and banking and even held political positions of notable influence.
In 1903, by public subscription, a monument in his memory was erected in front of the Town Hall of Portugalete, made by the sculptor Miquel Blay i Fàbregas, which meant the First Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Paris in 1905.
