Career
He is considered the most important Chilean historian of the 19th century. His main work General History of Chile (Spanish: Historia Jeneral de Chile) is a 15-volume work that spanned over 300 years of the nation"s history. Barros Arana was of Basque descent.
He also was an educator and a diplomat.
He was director of the Instituto Nacional, a public high school, and of the University of Chile.