Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla (1859–1940), commonly referred to as simply Philippe Bunau-Varilla and Monsignor Brun Varilla, was a French engineer and soldier. With the assistance of American lobbyist and lawyer William Nelson Cromwell, Bunau-Varilla greatly influenced the United States' decision concerning the construction site for the famed Panama Canal, today a waterway for trade shipment between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He also worked closely with United States president Theodore Roosevelt in the latter's orchestration of the Panamanian Revolution, resulting in Panama's independence from Colombia. Because of these accomplishments, which occurred during a two-year period, historian Donald Mabry has recognized Bunau-Varilla as a "genius" in the art of lobbyist statecraft, and American Heritage magazine has christened him the "Inventor of Panama" and one of the most extraordinary Frenchmen to ever live.
Read more about Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla: Early Life, Panama Canal, Career After The Panama Canal