Rafael Larco Hoyle

Rafael Larco Hoyle (18 May 1901 in Chicama Valley, Peru – 23 October 1966, Lima), raised at Chiclin, his family's estate, was sent to school in Maryland, United States, at the age of twelve.

He later entered Cornell University to study agricultural engineering and by 1923 returned to Peru to work on the family's sugar cane plantation.

He urged Larco Hoyle to form a new museum in Lima, one that could guard all the archaeological relics that were continually being extracted by clandestine excavators.

Within a year, the collection had grown significantly and display cases were installed in a small house on the Chiclín estate.

On July 28, 1926, Independence Day, the Rafael Larco Herrera Museum opened its doors to the public.