Afonso d'Escragnolle Taunay

Painting by Henrique Manzo.

Afonso d'Escragnolle Taunay (1876 in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil – 1958 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil) was a Brazilian writer, politician and noble.

Biography

Afonso was born in Palácio Rosado, the residence of Santa Catarina's governor. He was the only legitime son of Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay, Viscount of Taunay, and Cristina Teixeira Leite (Baron of Vassouras' daughter). He was the grandson of Félix Taunay, baron of Taunay, and the great-grandson of the Count of Escragnolle, a French nobleman. He has one half-brother, João Pedro Nolasco (married the basque woman Maria de Lima), born in Paris.

He graduated in civil engineering at the Escola Politécnica do Rio de Janeiro, around 1900. He taught at Escola Politécnica de São Paulo. He was the director of Museu Paulista (now Museu Ipiranga) from 1934 to 1937. He married Sara de Sousa Queirós, and had four sons: Ana Queirós Taunay, Paulo Taunay, Augusto de Escragnolle Taunay and Clarisse Taunay.