Latest news and stories about historical figures in Portugal for expats and residents.
He was a full professor at the Instituto Superior Técnico and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Public Instruction. He was noted for his contribution to the telecommunications sector.
Carolina Caeiro Fontela tells the story of her grandmother, Celeste Caeiro, also known as “Celeste of the Carnations”, in a book. It is a tribute to her grandmother, who passed away in November 2024.
Isabel Soares, daughter of Mário Soares, praised the work, a concrete sculpture that “takes the form of a large-scale diorama” and is about five metres long and 2.5 metres high.
We are free as long as the dream moves us. As long as we have arms that build, that support, that do not shrink before others. Chronicle by Manuela Castro
In the second part of the conversation, lawyer António Garcia Pereira recalls the cases he is most proud of having won in court and then takes a journey back in time to some of the moments that marked him, such as when he saw a colleague murdered in front of him by a Pide agent at the university, or how he experienced the 25th of April and escaped a burst of machine-gun fire from a window, which hit a young girl he tried to save by dragging her under a vehicle.
He spent much of his life in prison or in hiding, and after the 25th of April he established himself as a prominent figure in Portuguese politics. Álvaro Cunhal was a man of ideals, firm and convinced, who left a very deep mark on the country. A man of his time to be discovered in this episode of the podcast Retratos de Abril, originally released for the 50th anniversary of the Revolution in Portugal in 2024.
At 77, in an interview with Expresso, the retired Navy Captain recalls what triggered the Revolution and the work done by the April military officers to establish the foundations of the democratic State. A task “without parallel” in history that he believes has never been duly recognised.
In this episode of 'History repeats itself', Margarida de Magalhães Ramalho and Lourenço Pereira Coutinho discuss Catherine of Austria, an infanta of Spain, raised in unique conditions, who would go on to become Queen of Portugal.
As I previously recounted, in 1859 the Swiss Henry Dunant casually witnessed the inhumanity of the Battle of Solferino. Faced with the horrors he observed, he decided to recruit civilian volunteers from neighbouring villages to provide aid to the many thousands of wounded lying on the blood-soaked fields. He organised emergency relief, regardless of nationality or military rank, for both victors and the defeated. To this end, he managed to form improvised teams to transport the wounded to shelters to receive water, food, and treatment. The only concern was the reduction of suffering. Shortly after, in 1864, the humanitarian action led by Henry Dunant would serve as the basis for the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, which was initially signed by the official representatives of 12 countries, expressly accredited for that purpose. The aforementioned Convention, intended to protect wounded soldiers during combat, would soon come to be known as the First Geneva Convention. Curiously, Portugal was one of the first signatories, as King Luís de Bragança granted full powers to his delegate to actively participate in the discussions that took place in Geneva at the time. Thus, at the end of the proceedings, the Convention was signed on 22 August 1864 by the military doctor José António Marques. The approved text included only 10 articles which aimed, above all, to ensure the recognition of neutrality for military and field hospitals, which belligerents were required to recognise and respect. José António Marques (1822-1884) would subsequently found the Portuguese Red Cross and become its first leader. He contributed decisively to upholding the seven principles that underpin the Red Cross from its inception to the present day: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality. The Battle of Solferino, in addition to marking Dunant's life, was at the genesis of the approval of the Geneva Conventions. In 1901, Henry Dunant would be awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize, created that year. In a way, regarding multilateral relations between countries, we can consider that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is to war what the United Nations (UN) Security Council is to peacetime. However, the frequent and incomprehensible vetoes by its permanent members disrupt rather than build.
Contrary to what nationalist history taught, the 'Saint Infante' who died as a hostage in North Africa insistently asked his brothers to surrender Ceuta in exchange for his release.
A thinker of great relevance and intelligence who is urgent to know and to share.
An account of the arrest of Calouste Gulbenkian by the Portuguese secret police (PIDE).
Who was Salgueiro Maia, the soldier who always dreamed of being an Army officer, fought in Africa, led the revolution on the ground, and refused any spotlight after April 25th? Listen here to the first of twenty-five ‘Portraits of April’, a special podcast by Expresso, originally released for the 50th anniversary of the Revolution in Portugal in 2024.
The choice of Portugal by Calouste Gulbenkian to establish his foundation in the 1950s was 'one of the most extraordinary strokes of luck' in the country's history, contested by the United States among others, according to sociologist António Barreto.
We celebrate Friar Joaquim de Santa Rosa de Viterbo, son of a stonemason, an 18th-century Franciscan friar born in Gradiz, author of the 'Elucidário' who left us a treasure chest of memories.
José Joaquim de Sousa Reis – known as 'Remexido' – was a Miguelist guerrilla fighter who spread fear and death across the Algarve mountains until he was executed by firing squad by liberal troops in 1838. This is his story.
José Joaquim de Sousa Reis – known as 'Remexido' – was a Miguelist guerrilla fighter who spread fear and death across the Algarve mountains until he was executed by firing squad by liberal troops in 1838. This is his story.
The CDS-PP municipal group in Lisbon announced it will propose naming a street after the late military officer Marcelino da Mata, with a similar initiative planned for Porto. This follows the rejection of a previous PSD proposal by left-wing parties, the Liberal Initiative, and CDS-PP member Helena Ferro de Gouveia, whose individual vote against the party line sparked internal criticism. While the party honors da Mata as the most decorated soldier in the Portuguese Army, critics, including Ferro de Gouveia and left-wing municipal deputies, condemn his actions during the Colonial War, citing alleged war crimes and his role in upholding the Salazar dictatorship.
She was president of the National Council of Education, an “opponent of the dictatorship, committed to freedom and to the idea that education is always a political act and an act of hope.”
Home Tourism The General of Cais do Sodré: Duke of Terceira The General of Cais do Sodré: Duke of Terceira Check out the video!
Francis Ford Coppola turns 87 today, and I have a story to offer him. I imagine he doesn't need it, but I will risk telling him about the most seductive of Portuguese men, António Sotto-Mayor. Born into immense wealth, he lived intensely and spent all his money. Born in 1812, he was a child prodigy who charmed the court of Queen Maria II. He studied in Coimbra but left Law to pursue a life of travel and romance. As a diplomat in Sweden, he became a social icon, with a tie knot, a cigar brand, and a herring dish named after him. After losing his fortune, he returned to Lisbon, where he died in poverty at 56, mourned across Europe.
Tim Motion, an Irish photographer who became well known for his work in the Algarve during the 1960s and 70s, has died aged 90. He died in London on April The post Photographer behind iconic Algarve images dies at 90 appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Home Culture The Man exiled for his words. The Man exiled for his words. Check out the video!
He did not like the Generalissimo just as he did not like Dr. Salazar, which several times proved to be a problem for the family.
During the 1975 debates for the drafting of the Constitution, Sophia de Mello Breyner defended culture at the Constituent Assembly, as well as people with disabilities, for whom she demanded urgent and priority responses from the State.
Miguel Sousa Tavares was part of the commission for the extinction of the PIDE/DGS after the 25th of April, where he came face-to-face with inspector Sacchetti, who had interrogated his mother, Sophia de Mello Breyner, during the dictatorship.
His relationship with life was always shaped by imagination. Many called him an “adorable liar”, but a man like that, tireless in his ability to tell others about his adventures and dreams, could only have been written by himself. Luís de Sttau Monteiro was born 100 years ago.
From the burial site to the bullet near the chest, everything suggests that the skeleton found under the floor of a church belongs to the world's most famous musketeer. The researcher is awaiting DNA tests.
It is a name that is constantly in the news: the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf. It was already like this in the 16th century when the Portuguese, led by Afonso de Albuquerque, built a fort on the island.
It is a name that is constantly in the news: the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf. It was already like this in the 16th century, when the Portuguese, led by Afonso de Albuquerque, built a fort on the island.
