José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva

<p>José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva  was a Brazilian <a href="/facts/Politician/JGSyT9DD">statesman</a>, <a href="/facts/Natural_history/pSlAvbTX">naturalist</a>, mineralist, professor and poet, born in <a href="/facts/Santos%2c_S%25C3%25A3o_Paulo/rw1qtnFd">Santos</a>, <a href="/facts/S%25C3%25A3o_Paulo/pPqRTTR0">São Paulo</a>, then part of the <a href="/facts/Portuguese_Empire/nxn2wnHj">Portuguese Empire</a>. 
</p><p>He was one of the most important mentors of <a href="/facts/Brazilian_independence/IfQJWWal">Brazilian independence</a>, and his actions were decisive for the success of <a href="/facts/Emperor_Pedro_I/NsuXFjFT">Emperor Pedro I</a>. He supported <a href="/facts/Public_education/l0PkjUuJ">public education</a>, was an <a href="/facts/Slavery_in_Brazil/SJMGd9U0">abolitionist</a> and suggested that a new national capital be created in Brazil's underdeveloped interior (effected over a century later as <a href="/facts/Bras%25C3%25ADlia/Jxk9MCNu">Brasília</a>). His career as naturalist was marked by the discovery of four new minerals.
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José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva open-in-new

José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva