Manuel Antônio de Almeida (November 17, 1831 – November 28, 1861) was a Brazilian satirical writer, medician and teacher. He is famous for the book '' Memoirs of a Police Sergeant'', written under the pen name Um Brasileiro ( en, A Brazilian). He is the patron of the 28th chair of the

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

Biography

Almeida was born in

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 ...

, to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Antônio de Almeida and Josefina Maria de Almeida. Few things are known about his years of primary studies — although he entered at the Medicine course in 1849, graduating in 1855. Financial difficulties inspired him to dedicate himself to literature and journalism. His ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

'', '' Memoirs of a Police Sergeant'' (or, in Portuguese, ''Memórias de um Sargento de Milícias''), was initially published in ''

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art critici ...

'' form during the years 1852-1853, in the journal ''Correio Mercantil''. In 1858, he became the administrator of Tipografia Nacional, where he met

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 sto ...

. Trying to enter in the political career, he would go to the city of

Campos dos Goytacazes Campos dos Goytacazes () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 471,737 inhabitants. Location Campos dos Goytacazes has an area of 4,032 km2 (1,557 s ...

, embarking in the ship ''Hermes'', in order to start his political research. However, the ship wrecked off near the shores of

Macaé Macaé () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, 180 km northeast of the state capital. It is the birthplace of the 13th president of Brazil, Washington Luís. Location Macaé is generally considered to be ...

, and he died in the disaster.

Works

* '' Memoirs of a Police Sergeant'' (

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

) * ''Dois Amores'' (

theater play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, fr ...

—

1861 Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry. Events January–March * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico City. ** The first stea ...

)

References

External links

Almeida's biography at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
1831 births 1861 deaths Brazilian medical writers Brazilian male writers Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Writers from Rio de Janeiro (city) 19th-century Brazilian people Portuguese-language writers Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Deaths due to shipwreck at sea Accidental deaths in Brazil {{Brazil-writer-stub