Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo Júnior, titled Count of Afonso Celso by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, better known as Afonso Celso, (31 March 1860 – 11 July 1938) was a teacher, poet, historian and Brazilian politician. He is one of the founders of the

Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literature, literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its found ...

, where he occupied the chair number 36.

Biography

He was born in

Ouro Preto Ouro Preto (, ''Black Gold''), formerly Vila Rica (, ''Rich Village''), is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Herita ...

, the son of

Afonso Celso, Viscount of Ouro Preto Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo, the Viscount of Ouro Preto (2 February 1836 – 21 February 1912) was a Brazilian politician, and the last Prime Minister of the Empire of Brazil. Biography Personal life Afonso Celso was born in Ouro Preto, ...

, the last

President of the Council of Ministers The President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled Chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some Presidents of the Council of Ministers are th ...

of the

Brazilian Empire The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pe ...

, and of Francisca de Paula Martins de Toledo, the daughter of Counselor Joaquim Floriano de Toledo, colonel of the National Guard, who was president of the province of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

six times. He graduated in law in 1880 from the Faculty of Law of Largo de São Francisco,

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

, defending the thesis "Law of Revolution."

Politics and magisterium

He was elected for four consecutive terms of general deputy by Minas Gerais. With the proclamation of the republic, in 1889, left the policy to accompany the father in exile, that followed the departure of the

imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pap ...

for Portugal. Away from politics, he devoted himself to journalism and teaching. He divulged for more than 30 years his articles in ''

Jornal do Brasil ''Jornal do Brasil'', widely known as ''JB'', is a daily newspaper published by Editora JB in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The paper was founded in 1891 and is the third oldest extant Brazilian paper, after the ''Diário de Pernambuco'' and ''O Esta ...

'' and ''Correio da Manhã''. In the magisterium, he held the chair of political economy at the Faculty of Juridical and Social Sciences of Rio de Janeiro. In 1892, he joined the

Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute The Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute ( pt, Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro), IHGB, founded on 21 October 1838, is the oldest and traditional authority to promote research and preservation of historical and geographical, cu ...

. After the death of the

Baron of Rio Branco Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

, in 1912, he was elected perpetual president of this institution, a post he held until 1938. He died in Rio de Janeiro.

Works

Of his work the following books deserve to be highlighted: *''Prelúdios - reunindo uma pequena coleção de poesias de conteúdo romântico, publicada quando ele tinha quinze anos de idade'' (1876) *''Devaneios'' (1877) *''Telas sonantes'' (1879) *''Um ponto de interrogação'' (1879) *''Poenatos'' (1880) *''Rimas de outrora'' (1891) *''Vultos e fatos'' (1892) *''O imperador no exílio'' (1893) *''Minha filha'' (1893) *''Lupe'' (1894) *''Giovanina'' (1896) *''Guerrilhas'' (1896) *''Contraditas monárquicas'' (1896) *''Poesias escolhidas'' (1898) *''Oito anos de parlamento'' (1898) *''Trovas de Espanha'' (1899) *''Aventuras de Manuel João'' (1899) *''Por que me ufano de meu país'' (1900) - título que gerou críticas e elogios *''Um invejado'' (1900) *''Da imitação de Cristo'' (1903) *''Biografia do Visconde de Ouro Preto'' (1905) *''Lampejos Sacros'' (1915) *''O assassinato do coronel Gentil de Castro'' (1928) *''Segredo conjugal'' (1932)

Brazilian Academy of Letters

Afonso Celso was one of the thirty men of letters that initially constituted the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Among them were names like

Joaquim Nabuco Joaquim Aurélio Barreto Nabuco de Araújo (August 19, 1849 – January 17, 1910) was a Brazilian writer, statesman, and a leading voice in the abolitionist movement of his country. Early life and education Born in Brazil, Joaquim was the son ...

José do Patrocínio José Carlos do Patrocínio (October 9, 1854 – January 29, 1905) was a Brazilian writer, journalist, activist, orator and pharmacist. He was among the most well-known proponents of the abolition of slavery in Brazil, and known as "O Tigre da Ab ...

Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...

Rui Barbosa Ruy Barbosa de Oliveira (5 November 1849 – 1 March 1923), also known as Rui Barbosa, was a Brazilian polymath, diplomat, writer, jurist, and politician. Born in Salvador, Bahia, and a distinguished and staunch defender of civil liberties and ...

and Visconde of Taunay. Ten others were later elected, completing the forty founders of the institute. He was president of the ABL on two occasions: in 1925 and in 1935.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celso de Assis Figueiredo, Afonso, Junior 1860 births 1938 deaths 19th-century Brazilian poets 19th-century Brazilian historians Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Brazilian male poets People from Ouro Preto 19th-century Brazilian male writers 20th-century Brazilian historians