Heinrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Halfeld, also known in Portuguese as Henrique Guilherme Fernando Halfeld, (23 February 1797 – 22 November 1873) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 ...

. He was born in

Clausthal-Zellerfeld Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000. The City is the location of the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort ...

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...

, and studied at the Bergakademie Clausthal. He moved to Brazil in 1825, where he lived until his last days. He is most famous for having planned the development of a part of the inner region of the Brazilian state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

, especially that of the city of

Juiz de Fora Juiz de Fora (, '' Outsider Judge''), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately from the state border with Rio de Janeiro. According to 2020 estimates the current population is about 57 ...

. He died in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Biography

Son of Carl August Gottfried Halfeld and Dorothea Antonietta Elster, Heinrich Halfeld joined the Army when 18 years old as a second lieutenant, fighting for the expulsion of French troops from Germany and afterwards in the Battle of Waterloo, when he was hit in the face. He also worked in the mining in the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

and married Dorothea Augusta Filipina on 10 April 1824. He migrated to Brazil in 1825, when he came aboard the ship "Doris" to be part of the Imperial Corps of Foreigners. His firstborn son, Pedro Maria, was born short after his arrival. After his contract expired, he worked at the S. João Del Rey Mining Company and afterwards in the mines of the Baron of Cocais. In 1834 he bought a sesmaria on the shore of the

Piracicaba River The Piracicaba River is a river of São Paulo state in southeastern Brazil. It is a tributary of the Tietê River, which it joins in the reservoir created by Barra Bonita Dam. There is also another Piracicaba river in the state of Minas Gerais, n ...

and in 1836 was named "Engineer of the Province of Minas Gerais", when he started living 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 ...

(then Vila Rica). Tomás Bartoletti (2022) Cartography in Translation between Ouro Preto and Gotha, c.1850–1860, Imago Mundi, 74:1, 63-81, DOI: 10.1080/03085694.2022.2042126 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03085694.2022.2042126
/ref> He was designated to build the Road of the Paraibuna River, linking Vila Rica, the then capital of the Province of

, to the Paraibuna, on the border with the Province of

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 ...

. The new road allowed the integration of Minas Gerais and the birth of the city of

. This city's first layout was planned by Halfeld. His first wife died in Ouro Preto, on 13 May 1839. He got married a second time on 8 January 1840, with Cândida Maria Carlota, daughter of his host, Lieutenant Antônio Dias Tostes. In 1842, at the rank of Captain of Engineering, takes part in the victory of loyal Imperial troops in the Battle of Santa Luzia. For his loyal services at the battlefield, he was granted the

Order of the Rose The Imperial Order of the Rose ( pt, Imperial Ordem da Rosa) was a Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. On 22 March 1890, the order was can ...

. He was designated in 1852 for the beaconing of the

São Francisco River The São Francisco River (, ) is a large river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon, the Paraná and t ...

, having traveled and explored the river with its tributaries from

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 ...

to 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 ...

along a total of more than 2,000 km. His report is still consulted in the present. He became a widower again in 1866, and in the following year got married a third time with Maria Luiza da Cunha Pinto Coelho. He had 16 children altogether from his 3 marriages. He died, on 22 November 1873, by a shot fired while he cleaned his weapon. He was an important planner of road in the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and is one of the most important historical personalities of the city of

. He is considered its founder. Every year, during the city's birthday ceremonies, the medal Mérito Comendador Henrique Guilherme Fernando Halfeld is given to those who have done relevant things in any area to the city. Halfeld is the patriarch of the Halfeld family in Brazil.

Bibliography

* Roland Spliesgart: (in

) ''„Verbrasilianerung“ und Akkulturation: deutsche Protestanten im brasilianischen Kaiserreich am Beispiel der Gemeinden in Rio de Janeiro und Minas Gerais (1822–1889)''. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2006, P. 148f
Digitalized on Google Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halfeld, Heinrich 1797 births 1873 deaths Engineers from Lower Saxony People from Goslar (district) People from Juiz de Fora People from Ouro Preto