José Prudencio Padilla López, Colombian naval commander and politician (died 1828)

Admiral José Prudencio Padilla López was a Neogranadine military leader who fought in the Spanish American wars of independence and a hero in the battles of independence for Gran Colombia .
He was the foremost naval hero of the campaign for independence led by Simón Bolívar, and the creator of the first Navy and Admiral of Great Colombia. He is best known for his victory in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823, in which a royalist Spanish fleet was defeated.

March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 287 days remain until the end of the year.