Machado de Assis

21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908) was a Brazilian novelist, short story writer, and poet, widely regarded as the greatest writer of Brazilian literature. Born in Rio de Janeiro to a poor family of mixed race, he rose to literary eminence with innovative novels such as 'The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas' and 'Dom Casmurro'. He was the founding president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.

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Life events

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
21 June 1839

Born on the Livramento hill in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a mulatto house painter and a Portuguese-born washerwoman.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Began working as a typographer's apprentice and journalist
c. 1855

Largely self-educated, he entered the printing and newspaper world of Rio de Janeiro as a teenager, publishing his first poems and articles.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Carolina Augusta Xavier de Novais
12 November 1869

Married the Portuguese-born Carolina Xavier de Novais, beginning a devoted marriage of thirty-five years.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published his first novel, 'Ressurreição'
1872

His debut novel marked the beginning of his so-called romantic phase.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Entered the Brazilian civil service
1873

Took a post in the Ministry of Agriculture, a bureaucratic career that gave him financial stability while he wrote.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published 'The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas'
1881

This formally daring novel, narrated by a dead man, inaugurated his mature realist phase and is considered a landmark of world literature.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Elected founding president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
1897

Helped found the Academia Brasileira de Letras and served as its first president until his death.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published 'Dom Casmurro'
1899

His celebrated novel of jealousy and unreliable narration became one of the most studied works in the Portuguese language.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Widowed by the death of his wife Carolina
20 October 1904

Carolina's death in 1904 devastated him and inspired the famous sonnet 'A Carolina'.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Rio de Janeiro
29 September 1908

Died at his home in the Cosme Velho district of Rio de Janeiro at age 69.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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