Bento de Jesus Caraça | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1901-04-18)18 April 1901 |
| Died | 25 June 1948(1948-06-25) (aged 47) |
| Occupation(s) | Mathematician,economist,statistician |
Bento de Jesus Caraça,GCSE,GOL (18 April 1901 – 25 June 1948) was an influentialPortuguesemathematician,economist andstatistician.[1] Caraça was also a member of thePortuguese Communist Party,[citation needed] and participated in the formation of the PortugueseMovement of National Antifascist Unity andMovement of Democratic Unity in the 1940s.[2]For his role in the resistance against theEstado Novo regime led byAntónio Oliveira Salazar, Caraça was arrested and lost his professorship at theISCEF [pt].[2]
Caraça was born inVila Viçosa,Évora District, in the south of Portugal.[2] He was the son of two peasants, João António Caraça and Domingas da Conceição Espadinha. He lived his first years on the family's farm and he managed to learn how to read with another peasant, José Percheiro.
Caraça showed a great capacity for learning from a young age, which led the Albuquerque family, who owned the farm where his family lived, to support his education.[1] After finishing primary school in 1911, Caraça studied at theLiceu Pedro Nunes [pt] inLisbon, where he completed his secondary education in 1918.[1] He enrolled at theHigher Institute of Commerce [pt] (Portuguese:Instituto Superior de Comércio, later known as the ISCEF and ISEG) the same year.[1]
On November 1, 1919, as a 2nd-year student, Caraça was nominated 2nd assistant by his teacherAureliano de Mira Fernandes [pt]. He graduated in 1923. On December 13, 1924, he was nominated 1st assistant and, on October 14, 1927, he was appointed as a professor. On December 28, 1929, he was nominated cathedratic professor, teachingalgebra andinfinitesimal calculus.[3]
As a student Caraça was on the administrative council of thePortuguese Popular University [pt] at its foundation in 1919, and in 1928 he became president.[1] He organised the University's library and several conferences about mathematics, art, history, and other topics.[1]
Caraça was one of the founders of thePortuguese Mathematical Society in 1940,[1] and from 1945 to 1945 served as joint president alongsideAureliano de Mira Fernandes [pt].[4] Caraça founded the journalGazeta de Matemática [pt] in 1940 with mathematiciansAntónio Aniceto Monteiro, Hugo Ribeiro, José da Silva Paulo and Manuel Zaluar Nunes.[1]
Caraça died on 25 June 1948.[3]
There is a residentialtown square inSantarém, Portugal named after him.[citation needed]
