Afonso d'Escragnolle Taunay (11 July 1876 – 20 March 1958) was a Brazilian writer and historian.

Biography

Afonso was born in the ''Palácio Rosado'', the residence of Santa Catarina's governor. He was the only legitimate son of

Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay, Viscount of Taunay Alfredo Maria Adriano d'Escragnolle Taunay, Viscount of Taunay (February 22, 1843 – January 25, 1899), was a Brazilian writer, musician, professor, military engineer, historian, politician, sociology, sociologist and nobleman. He is famous for ...

, and Cristina Teixeira Leite (daughter of the Baron of Vassouras). He was the grandson of

Félix Taunay, Baron of Taunay Félix Émile Taunay, Baron of Taunay (March 1, 1795 – April 10, 1881), was a French Brazilian painter, and drawing and Greek teacher. He was the father of famous writer and politician Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay, the Viscount of Taunay. B ...

, and the great-grandson of the Count of Escragnolle, a French nobleman. He had one half-brother, João Pedro Nolasco, who was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and married a Basque woman, Maria de Lima. He graduated in civil engineering at the Polytechnic School of Rio de Janeiro, around 1900. He taught at Polytechnic School of São Paulo. He was the director of Museu Paulista (now Ipiranga Museum) from 1934 to 1937. He married Sara de Sousa Queirós, and had four children: Ana Queirós Taunay, Paulo Taunay, Augusto de Escragnolle Taunay and Clarisse Taunay. He was a member 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 Tuesday, ...

. Taunay is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of Brazilian lizard, '' Colobodactylus taunayi''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Taunay", p. 261).

Works

*'' Guia da Secção Histórica do Museu Paulista'', 1937 *''História do Café no Brasil'', 1939

References

20th-century Brazilian male writers 1876 births 1958 deaths People from Florianópolis Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Brazilian nobility Brazilian people of French descent Museu do Ipiranga 20th-century Brazilian historians {{Brazil-noble-stub