Euclides da Cunha facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Euclides da Cunha
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| Born | January 20, 1866 Cantagalo, Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil |
| Died | August 15, 1909 (aged 43) Piedade, Rio de Janeiro |
| Occupation | Journalist Sociologist Engineer |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Genre | Poetry |
Euclides da Cunha (Portuguese: [ewˈklidʒiʒ dɐ ˈkũɲɐ], born January 20, 1866 – died August 15, 1909) was a famous Brazilian journalist, sociologist, and engineer. He is best known for his important book, Os Sertões. This book is a true story about the Brazilian government's military trips against a rebellious village called Canudos. This event is known as the War of Canudos.
Many people loved Os Sertões. The American poet Robert Lowell even thought it was better than books by Leo Tolstoy. The famous writer Jorge Luis Borges also mentioned it in one of his short stories. The book was translated into English in 1944 and is still available today. Euclides da Cunha was inspired by ideas about how nature and people interact. In Os Sertões, he wrote that Brazil's coast was modern, while the inner parts of the country were more traditional. He was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1903 until he passed away in 1909.
Euclides da Cunha also inspired a character called The Journalist in the book The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa.
Euclides da Cunha's Life Story
Euclides da Cunha was born on January 20, 1866, in Cantagalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He lived there until he was three years old. His grandparents came from Portugal. In 1885, he started studying at Escola Politécnica. The next year, in 1886, he went to a military school in Rio called Escola Militar da Praia Vermelha.
In 1888, he was removed from the military school. This happened because he took part in a protest when the Brazilian War Minister visited. He was allowed back into the Escola Militar in 1889. In 1891, he joined the Brazilian War School (Escola de Guerra). He left the Army in 1896 to focus on studying civil engineering.
In 1897, he joined the Army during the Campanha de Canudos. This was a military campaign against a group of peasants led by Antonio Conselheiro. From August to October, he was in the Sertão (which means "backland"). He worked as a war correspondent for the O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, sending back reports from the war.
In 1903, he was chosen to be a member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras (Brazilian Academy of Letters). He also joined the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico, which is a historical and geographic institute. In 1909, he became a professor of Logic at the Colégio Pedro II, a public high school in Rio.
Euclides da Cunha married Ana Emília Ribeiro in 1890. They had five children together. Euclides da Cunha died on August 15, 1909, when he was 43 years old.
His Important Books
- 1902 Os Sertões (Rebellion in the Backlands: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 978-0-226-12444-5) – This is his most famous book, a true story about the War of Canudos.
- 1907 Contrastes e confrontos, which means "Contrasts and Confrontations".
- 1907 Peru versus Bolívia
- 1939 Canudos, diário de uma expedição – These were news articles he wrote during the Canudos expedition.
- 1967 Canudos e inéditos – More news articles published after his death.
See also
In Spanish: Euclides da Cunha para niños
