José Correia da Serra

José Correia da Serra

Abbé Correa, by Domenico Pellegrini (1759-1840).
Born 6 June 1750
Serpa, Kingdom of Portugal
Died 11 September 1823 (1823-09-12) (aged 73)
Caldas da Rainha, Kingdom of Portugal
Nationality Portuguese
Occupation Abbot, philosopher, diplomat, politician and scientist

José Francisco Correia da Serra (6 June 1750 – 11 September 1823) was a Portuguese Abbot, polymath - philosopher, diplomat, politician and scientist.[1] In some circumstances, he was also known as Abbé Correa.[2] The plant genus Correa is named in his honour.

Biography

Correia da Serra was born at Serpa, in Alentejo, in 1750, and was educated at Rome, where he took holy orders. In 1777 he returned to Lisbon, where he was one of the founders of the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa in 1779 (then called Academia Real das Ciências de Lisboa; English: Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon).[3]

His published writings brought him into conflict with reactionary members of the religious and political hierarchy in Portugal.

In 1786, he fled to France, and remained there till the death of Portuguese King-consort Pedro III, when he again returned to his homeland, but political difficulties forced him to leave the country again.[3] He went to England, where he found a protector in Sir Joseph Banks, who was President of the Royal Society.[4] With Banks' support, he was easily elected a fellow of the society. In 1797, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

In 1797, he was appointed secretary to the Portuguese embassy in London, but a quarrel with the ambassador drove him once more to Paris (1802). He would stay in Paris for the next eleven years.[3]

In 1813, he left Europe for the New World, arriving first in New York City. His travels took him several times to Monticello, the home of former President Thomas Jefferson where his political views found a fulsome reception.[5] He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1815.[6]

In 1816, he was made Portuguese minister-plenipotentiary at Washington D.C., but resided in Philadelphia.[5]

In 1820, he was recalled home to Portugal, where he was appointed a member of the financial council, and elected to a seat in the "General Extraordinary and Constituent Cortes of the Portuguese Nation", but he died only three years later.[3]

Works

Articles:[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Diogo, Maria Paula Diogo, Ana Carneiro1 and Ana Simões. "The Portuguese naturalist Correia da Serra (1751–1823) and his impact on early nineteenth-century botany," Journal of the History of Biology." (June, 2001) 34:2, 353-393.
  2. ↑ Kenneth Maxwell (2000), Was Brazil Different? The Contexts of Independence, Harvard University, John Parry Memorial Lecture.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Chisholm 1911.
  4. ↑ Archives of the Royal Society.
  5. 1 2 Monticello.org., Jose Correia da Serra
  6. ↑ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter C" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Science in Portugal web site
  8. ↑ IPNI.  Corrêa.
Attribution

 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Correa da Serra, José Francisco". Encyclopædia Britannica. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links

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