Juan Crisóstomo Falcón

Juan Crisóstomo Falcón y Zavarce (27 January 1820 – 29 April 1870) was President of Venezuela (1863-1868).

Member of the liberal Venezuelan Federalist Party, he first served as president of Venezuela as the supreme chief of a rebel movement in August 1859, but the rebellion was soon crushed. He served as the recognized president of Venezuela from 1863 to 1868, when a conservative revolution headed by General José Tadeo Monagas ended his term as president. Also, he was briefly overthrown in 1865. At the end of his presidential term, Falcón emigrated to Europe. He died in Martinique in 1870. The state of Falcón is named after him.

In 1863 Venezuela, under the presidency of Juan Crisóstomo Falcon, became the first country to abolish capital punishment for all crimes, including serious offenses against the state.