Teodoro Fernandes Sampaio () (7 January 1855 - 11 October 1937) was an

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see "Black people#Brazil, preto"). Most members of another group of people, Pardo Brazilians, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a ...

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

and public intellectual who worked as an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

, politician, and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

Early life

Sampaio was born on the Engenho Canabrava, property of the Visconde de Aramaré in

Santo Amaro, Bahia Santo Amaro, also known as Santo Amaro da Purificação (), is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Bahia in Brazil. The population is 60,131 (2020 est.) in an area of . It is located in the metropolitan area of Salvador. Santo ...

. His father was Manuel Fernandes Sampaio, a white priest, and his mother, Domingas da Paixão do Carmo, was an enslaved woman.

Education

In 1864 his father took young Sampaio to

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 ...

and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, where he studied engineering at the Colégio Central. During his studies in Rio de Janeiro, Sampaio worked as a

drafter A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for m ...

and taught mathematics in the

Museu Nacional The National Museum of Brazil ( pt, Museu Nacional) is the oldest scientific institution of Brazil. It is located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, where it is installed in the Paço de São Cristóvão (Saint Christopher's Palace), which is ins ...

. Sampaio graduated with a degree in civil engineering from the

Polytechnic School Polytechnic School, often referred to simply as Poly, is a college preparatory private day school located in Pasadena, California with approximately 850 students enrolled in grades Kindergarten through 12. The school is a former member of the ...

in Rio de Janeiro in 1877 and returned to Santo Amaro. Reunited with mother, Sampaio managed to purchase the

manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that t ...

of his three brothers Martinho, Ezequiel, e Matias.

Engineering and cartography

In 1879, Emperor

Pedro II of Brazil Don (honorific), Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimity, Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the List of monarchs of Brazil, second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. ...

named Sampaio to the national "Comissão Hidráulica" (Hydraulic Commission). He was the only Brazilian serving on a team of U.S. engineers working to enlarge the port of Santos led by

William Milnor Roberts William Milnor Roberts (February 12, 1810 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – July 14, 1881 in Soledad, Brazil)An Obituary Notice of William Milnor Roberts, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 20, No. 111 (Jan. - Jun., 1882) ...

. As part of this endeavour, Sampaio produced his first cartographic work, drawing the blueprints and survey charts of the port of Santos along with surveys of the São Francisco river. The expedition explored the river from its mouth, on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, up to the navigable limit at the time, near the town of

Pirapora Pirapora is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in northcentral Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population is 56,640 (2020 est.) in an area of 550 km². The name Pirapora comes from the Tupi language, Tupi words for "fish" + "jump", referring to t ...

in the then province of Minas Gerais. The return journey, inland through the north-eastern Brazilian state of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

, led to Sampaio's major cartographic work, the topographic survey of

Chapada Diamantina Chapada Diamantina (; Portuguese for the "Diamond Plateau") is a region of Bahia state, in the Northeast of Brazil. This mountain range is known as “Serra do Espinhaço,” in Minas Gerais state, south of Bahia. Description The Chapada Di ...

, a mountain range in Bahia State, and his book ''O rio São Francisco e a Chapada Diamantina'', published in 1906, which later became a classic of Brazil's history and geography.

Institutional memberships

Sampaio was one of the founders of the Escola Politécnica of São Paulo (Polytechnic School of São Paulo) in 1893 and of the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico de São Paulo (Historical and Geographical Institute of São Paulo) in 1894. He was also a member of the Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia, serving as president in 1922, and a member of the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (1902).

Historical significance

Sampaio was the first person with an enslaved mother to become a federal deputy in Brazil's history. His most important books were: * ''O rio São Francisco e a Chapada Diamantina'' (1906) * ''O Tupi na geografia nacional'' (1901) * ''Atlas dos Estados Unidos do Brasil'' (1908) * ''Dicionário histórico, geográfico e etnográfico do Brasil'' (1922) * ''História da Fundação da Cidade do Salvador'' (póstumo). Books about him: * ''Theodoro Sampaio e a Chapada Diamantina'' (Trechos da expedição de 1879/1880), Otoniel Fernandes Neto, ed. do Author, Brasília, 2005. (). * ''Baianos Ilustres'', Antônio Loureiro de Souza, Salvador, 1949. A well-known, major street in the city of

, Rua Teodoro Sampaio, is dedicated to Sampaio.

Bibliography

* "Theodoro Sampaio - nos sertões e nas cidades" Versal Editores, Rio de Janeiro, 2010. (). * ''O Rio São Francisco e a Chapada Diamantina'', Teodoro Sampaio (''José Carlos Barreto de Santana'' org.), Companhia das Letras, São Paulo, 2002. () * ''Theodoro Sampaio e a Chapada Diamantina'' (''Trechos da expedição de 1879/1880''), Otoniel Fernandes Neto, ed. do Autor, Brasília, 2005. (). * ''Baianos Ilustres'', Antônio Loureiro de Souza, Salvador, 1949.

References

External links

* * https://archive.today/20140119174546/http://biblio.etnolinguistica.org/autor ("Works by Teodoro Sampaio") * http://mundoafro.atarde.com.br ("Reproduction of drawings by Teodoro Sampaio") {{DEFAULTSORT:Sampaio, Teodoro Fernandes 1855 births 1937 deaths Brazilian engineers Afro-Brazilian people People from Santo Amaro, Bahia