António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2023) |
António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro (1848 – 1920), also known as Monteiro dos Milhões (Monteiro the Millionaire), was a Brazilian-Portuguese businessman, collector, bibliophile,
Early life and education
António was born to Portuguese parents in Rio de Janeiro. His father, Francisco Monteiro, originally from Lagos da Beira, immigrated at the age of 13 to escape the priesthood his father had destined for him. He initially worked in an English coal import company. Francisco later married Teresa de Carvalho, the daughter of a wealthy merchant who had left Lisbon with the Portuguese court.
In 1873, he married Perpétua Augusta Pereira de Melo, with whom he had two children.
António inherited a huge family fortune, which he enlarged in
António was fluent in Latin, Greek, French and German. In 1871, he received a degree in Law from the University of Coimbra. He also received prizes in agriculture and mineralogy. He was a member of many scientific societies, including the Royal Spanish Society of Natural History, the German Entomological Society, and the Entomological Societies of France, London and Belgium (1889 ).[2]
Interests
Carvalho Monteiro was an accomplished naturalist. He had large collections of butterflies, shells, and orchids. He had the second largest lepidopteran collection in the world, only surpassed by that of Baron Walter de Rothschild. In addition, he was involved with his father in the foundation of the Lisbon Zoo and served as executive director and honorary president in 1917.[2]
Carvalho Monteiro was a well-known
Carvalho Monteiro was represented in the press of his time as both an altruist and an eccentric, exemplified by his famous Leroy 01, claimed to be the most complicated clock in the world.
Tomb
Carvalho Monteiro had the same architect who built the Palácio da Regaleira,
See also
References
- ^ Carvalho, Fernando Vaz dos Santos. António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro: Um Naturalista Pioneiro: As Coleções de História Natural, 2012.
- ^ a b Geographic, National. "Quinta da Regaleira, a mansão e o filósofo". nationalgeographic.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-05-12.