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Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay | |
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 Portrait by Louis-Auguste Moreaux, 1867 | |
| Born | Alfredo Maria Adriano d'Escragnolle Taunay (1843-02-22)February 22, 1843 |
| Died | January 25, 1899(1899-01-25) (aged 55) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Pen name | Sílvio Dinarte |
| Occupation | Writer, musician, professor,military engineer, historian, politician,sociologist |
| Alma mater | Colégio Pedro II |
| Literary movement | Romanticism |
| Notable works | Inocência,A Retirada da Laguna |
| Spouse | Cristina Teixeira Leite |
| Children | Afonso d'Escragnolle Taunay |
| Relatives | Félix Taunay,Nicolas-Antoine Taunay,Adrien Taunay the Younger |
Alfredo Maria Adriano d'Escragnolle Taunay, Viscount of Taunay (February 22, 1843 – January 25, 1899), was a Brazilian writer, musician, professor,military engineer, historian, politician,sociologist and nobleman. He is famous for the regionalist novelInocência [pt], considered a major forerunner ofnaturalism in Brazil, and forA Retirada da Laguna (1874; originally written in 1872 in French asLe retraite de Laguna), an account of an episode in theParaguayan War. TheBrazilianistLeslie Bethell has described it as "the one undoubted literary masterpiece produced by the Paraguayan War".[1]
He founded and occupied the 13th chair of theBrazilian Academy of Letters from 1897 until his death in 1899.
Taunay was born inRio de Janeiro, in 1843. His father wasFélix Taunay, Baron of Taunay, a painter, professor and headmaster of theEscola Nacional de Belas Artes; his mother, Gabriela Hermínia Robert d'Escragnolle Taunay, was one of the sisters ofGastão d'Escragnolle, the Baron d'Escragnolle; and his grandfather was the French painterNicolas-Antoine Taunay, Baron of Taunay. Growing up in a cultured environment, Taunay studied Literature andHumanities at theColégio Pedro II, graduating in 1858. He studiedphysics and mathematics in what is now theAcademia Militar das Agulhas Negras. AnEnsign in 1862, bachelor in Mathematics in 1863 and anArtillery Lieutenant in 1864, he was matriculated in the second year ofmilitary engineering course, but he did not finish it because of theParaguayan War. From his experiences at the war, he wrote the memoirCenas de Viagem in 1868 and the historic accountLa Retraite de Laguna (French forThe Retreat of Laguna) in 1872, translating it toPortuguese two years later.
Taunay wrote and published his first romance,Mocidade de Trajano (Trajan's Youth), in 1871, under the pen nameSílvio Dinarte. Appointed by the future Viscount of Rio BrancoJosé Maria da Silva Paranhos Sr., he became the general deputy ofGoiás from 1872 to 1875, a Major in 1875 and the governor ofSanta Catarina from 1876 to 1877. In 1885, he asked for his demission of the Major post.
Taunay married Cristina Teixeira Leite, daughter ofFrancisco José Teixeira Leite [pt] (Baron ofVassouras), granddaughter ofFrancisco José Teixeira [pt] (1st Baron ofItambé) and grandniece ofCustódio Ferreira Leite [pt] (Baron ofAiuruoca). They had one son, the historianAfonso d'Escragnolle Taunay (1876–1958).
Taunay was a member of theConservative Party, but when the party fell, in 1878, he travelled to Europe, returning only in 1880.
From 1881 to 1884, he was the deputy of Santa Catarina. He candidated himself to the post of deputy ofRio de Janeiro, but was defeated in the elections. From 1885 to 1886, he was the governor ofParaná. One of Taunay's most famous deeds as governor of Paraná was the inauguration of thePasseio Público in the capitalCuritiba, in 1886.
In 1889,Emperor Pedro II gave him the title ofViscount of Taunay. However, when Brazilbecame a Republic, all thenobility ranks were abolished. Taunay, disgusted, abandoned his political career, since he was amonarchist.
He died in 1899 due todiabetes.
| Preceded by New creation | Viscount of Taunay 1889 | Succeeded by None (title abolished) |
| Preceded by Francisco Otaviano (patron) |  Brazilian Academy of Letters – Occupant of the 13th chair 1897–1899 | Succeeded by |
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