Origins & Early Life

Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto (13 May 1881 – 1 November 1922) was a Brazilian novelist and journalist. A major figure in Brazilian Pre-Modernism, he is famous for the novel Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma, a bitter satire of the early years of the First Brazilian Republic. Lima Barreto was born on 13 May 1881 in the bairro of Laranjeiras in Rio de Janeiro. He was born on a Friday the 13th, considered superstitiously to be an unlucky day, but which he personally considered to bring good luck.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

His date of birth would also be marked seven years later by the signing of the Golden Law, which abolished slavery in Brazil. His father, João Henriques de Lima Barreto, was a typographer and a monarchist who had close connections to Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo, the Viscount of Ouro Preto, who would later become Lima Barreto's godfather. Barreto's mother, Amália Augusta, died when he was very young, and he was subsequently sent to study at a private school run by Teresa Pimentel do Amaral. Soon after, he entered at the Liceu Popular Niteroiense, after the Viscount of Ouro Preto decided to pay for his studies. He graduated in 1894, and in the following year, he would enter the...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Alexander Fleming — Contemporary (Born in 1881) (1881): Pioneering microbiologist known for the discovery of penicillin, revolutionizing medicine.
• Alexander II of Russia — Contemporary (Died in 1881) (1881): Emperor of Russia, known as 'The Liberator' for abolishing serfdom.
• Béla Bartók — Contemporary (Born in 1881) (1881): Pioneering Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist of the 20th century.
• Aage Bohr — Contemporary (Born in 1922) (1922): Pioneering Danish nuclear physicist, Nobel laureate for atomic structure theory.
• Agostinho Neto — Contemporary (Born in 1922) (1922): Angolan communist revolutionary, poet, and first President of Angola.
• Alain Resnais — Contemporary (Born in 1922) (1922): Pioneering French filmmaker exploring memory, consciousness, and narrative structure.
• Aleksey Khomyakov — Shared historical date (05-13 · Born) (1804): Founding theoretician of the Slavophile movement in Russian philosophy.
• Alexander Nevsky — Shared historical date (05-13 · Born) (1220): A pivotal Grand Prince of Novgorod and defender of Russian Orthodoxy.
• Alfred Jarry — Shared historical date (11-01 · Died) (1907): Pioneering French symbolist writer, known for Ubu Roi and coining 'pataphysics'
• Alfred Wegener — Shared historical date (11-01 · Born) (1880): Pioneering geophysicist known for proposing the theory of continental drift.
• 1881 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1881
• May 13 (05-13) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on May 13
• 1922 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1922
• November 1 (11-01) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on November 1