<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>On February 1, 1828, the newspaper <italic>Diario Fluminense</italic> published in full the Plan for the establishment of an astronomical observatory in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The document was written by the Brazilian mathematician Cândido Baptista de Oliveira and substantiated the approval of the law determining the creation of the future Imperial Astronomical Observatory of Rio de Janeiro (IORJ). This paper discusses the influences embedded within Oliveira’s project, by analyzing the appropriation of different scientific traditions gained during his training as a mathematician at the Observatory of the University of Coimbra and during his studies at French scientific institutions, such as the Polytechnic School and Paris Observatory. I argue that this project had a nationalistic ideal, imbued with the notions of progress and modernity, both effects of the ongoing circulation of people and scientific knowledge during the beginning of the nineteenth century.</p>
</abstract>

On February 1, 1828, the newspaper Diario Fluminense published in full the Plan for the establishment of an astronomical observatory in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The document was written by the Brazilian mathematician Cândido Baptista de Oliveira and substantiated the approval of the law determining the creation of the future Imperial Astronomical Observatory of Rio de Janeiro (IORJ). This paper discusses the influences embedded within Oliveira’s project, by analyzing the appropriation of different scientific traditions gained during his training as a mathematician at the Observatory of the University of Coimbra and during his studies at French scientific institutions, such as the Polytechnic School and Paris Observatory. I argue that this project had a nationalistic ideal, imbued with the notions of progress and modernity, both effects of the ongoing circulation of people and scientific knowledge during the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Cândido Baptista de Oliveira and the “Forgotten Memoir”: The First Plan of a National Astronomical Observatory After Brazilian Independence (1822-1831)

HoST - Journal  of History of Science and Technology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

On February 1, 1828, the newspaper Diario Fluminense published in full the Plan for the establishment of an astronomical observatory in the city of Rio de...

Cândido Baptista de Oliveira and the “Forgotten Memoir”: The First Plan of a National Astronomical Observatory After Brazilian Independence (1822-1831)

Publicado en línea: 14 jun 2023

Páginas: 39 - 54

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/host-2023-0004

Palabras clave
history of astronomy, Brazilian empire, Candido Baptista de Oliveira, imperial observatory, Rio de Janeiro

© 2023 Millena Souza Farias, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Cândido Baptista de Oliveira and the “Forgotten Memoir”: The First Plan of a National Astronomical Observatory After Brazilian Independence (1822-1831)

Publicado en línea: 14 jun 2023

Páginas: 39 - 54

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/host-2023-0004

Palabras clavehistory of astronomy, Brazilian empire, Candido Baptista de Oliveira, imperial observatory, Rio de Janeiro

© 2023 Millena Souza Farias, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Palabras clave
history of astronomy, Brazilian empire, Candido Baptista de Oliveira, imperial observatory, Rio de Janeiro