Augustín E. Edwards ’49

Gus Edwards, a Chilean who transferred to Princeton in 1947 and graduated in 1949, died in Chile April 24, 2017, following complications from an operation. He had been in an induced coma for more than two months.

Gus transferred to Princeton from the University of Chile Law School, majored in SPIA, and graduated with honors. He belonged to the Camera Club and the Outing Club, and took his meals at Quadrangle. Although not widely known in the class, he was an excellent skier and a good companion.

Gus eventually went back to Chile and joined the staff of El Mercurio, a Santiago newspaper that had been founded by his grandfather in 1900 as an adjunct to an existing Valparaiso newspaper. Gus took the reins after his father’s death in 1956, and the combined newspapers, both named El Mercurio, were the most influential voice of anti-communism in Chile. They bitterly opposed the socialist government of Salvador Allende and supported the military coup that deposed him in 1973.

Gus is survived by his wife, Maria Luisa del Rio; and six children, Agustin, Christian, Isabel, Carolina, Andres, and Felipe. To them, we offer our sincere condolences.