José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva

José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva (13 June 1763 – 6 April 1838) was a Brazilian statesman, naturalist, mineralist, professor and poet, born in Santos, São Paulo, then part of the Portuguese Empire.

He was one of the most important mentors of Brazilian independence, and his actions were decisive for the success of Emperor Pedro I. He supported public education, was an abolitionist and suggested that a new national capital be created in Brazil's underdeveloped interior (effected over a century later as Brasília). His career as naturalist was marked by the discovery of four new minerals.

Life
In 1800, Bonifácio was appointed professor of geology at Coimbra, and soon after inspector-general of the Portuguese mines; and in 1812 he was made perpetual secretary of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences. Returning to the Brazil in 1819, he urged prince regent Pedro to resist the recall of the Lisbon court, and was appointed one of his ministers in 1821. When the independence of Brazil was declared, Bonifácio became minister of the interior and of foreign affairs; and when it was established, he was again elected by the Constituent Assembly. He was also the author of the abolition project in Brazil, presented to the Constituent Assembly in 1823. But his democratic principles resulted in his dismissal from office in July 1823.

Career in Europe
José Bonifácio spent part of his life in Europe. In his travels around Europe he studied chemistry and mineralogy with other scientists. He collected data, carried out scientific experiments and discovered four new minerals and eight previously unknown species. The mineral andradite is named after him. Among his other discoveries was petalite, a lithium-containing material, first discovered by Bonifácio toward the end of the 18th century on a trip to Sweden; it was in this mineral that Swedish chemists first discovered lithium. He also was the first to discover another important lithium-containing mineral, spodumene, from the same source, the island of Utö in the Stockholm Archipelago of Sweden.

In 1797 he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Bonifácio graduated with degrees in Law and Natural Philosophy from the University of Coimbra, he joined the Lisbon Academy Sciences. He taught Geognosy at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Knowing twelve languages, he could speak four.

Return to Brazil
In 1819, he travelled back to Brazil where he continued to conduct scientific research. A talented man having an unquiet temperament, he was also appointed Minister for Kingdom and Overseas Affairs and became the de facto prime minister.

His relationship with the prince became incompatible and he decided to join the opposition. In 1823 he was exiled and went to live in Bordeaux where, in 1825, come out his "Poesias Avulsas" (Sundry Poetries). To publish them he used the pseudonym Américo Elísio. On the dissolution of the Assembly in November (the Night of Agony), he was arrested and banished to France, where he lived in exile near Bordeaux until 1829, when he was permitted to return to Brazil.

In 1831 when Dom Pedro I abdicated from the throne, he was appointed by the former Emperor to be the tutor of the Emperor's son. Since he did not agree with the Regent's government he tried to reestablish the Empire. After being again arrested in 1833 and tried for intriguing on behalf of Dom Pedro I, he passed the rest of his days in retirement at the city of Niterói. He lost his duties as tutor and was accused of being a traitor, but he was eventually pardoned.

In December 1836, he contracted tuberculosis. He died of the disease on 6 April 1838 in Niterói.

Career in literature
José Bonifácio had also been engaged in Literature. His work Poesias Avulsas that come out in Bordeaux were republished in Brazil, in 1861, by the publisher Laemmert. In Brazil it received the title "Poesias" (Poetries) and the publication had the coordination of Joaquim Norberto de Sousa. In 1942 Afrânio Peixoto prepared another issue through the Brazilian Academy of Letters. This work, prefaced with a text by Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, was also published in a collection, as Volume I, idealized by the "Instituto Nacional do Livro" (The National Book Institute), appearing in 1946 with the title Poesias de Américo Elísio [Américo Elísio's Poetry]. His poetry shows a naturalistic pantheism that expresses his intellectual character and scientific curiosity.

His scientific, political and social works are published in Volume III, compiled and reproduced by Edgar Cerqueira Falcão with the title Obras científicas, politicas e sociais de José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva. Its third edition came out in 1963 to celebrate the bicentennial of the Patriarch of the Independence.

The mineral andradite was named after José Bonifácio.