José Aldunate Lyon (June 5, 1917 – September 28, 2019) was a Society of Jesus and Chilean teacher, worker, priest and human rights activist during the military dictatorship. He was awarded the National Prize for Human Rights in 2016.
Born in Santiago, Chile, he was the son of Carlos Aldunate Errázuriz and Adriana Lyon Lynch, and was the second of four siblings: Carlos, the eldest, plus two younger sisters, María and Pelagia.
From a wealthy family, he was educated by governesses brought from England, so he learned to speak English before Spanish. In 1928, the Aldunate Lyon family moved to England, where they remained until 1930. José Aldunate studied at the Jesuit college Stonyhurst College, in Lancashire, with his brother Carlos, while his sister attended at Saint college in London. For José Aldunate, his time in England was decisive:
I had some success in rugby and I was successful in the studio, the first years but not the last ones. Generally in the first year, even in English, he beat the others. "I had no problem in terms of language. That was my English period. It was not very long, from 1928 to 1930. However, they were very decisive years in my life. We can say that I forged my character, who I was."
― José Aldunate