After more than two weeks of intense competition, the Paris Olympic Games are coming to an end. The closing ceremony is scheduled for 3 pm this Sunday (11) in the French capital. 
Three other dates are highlighted this week. On the 12th, the National Day of the Arts (celebrated because of the founding of the Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Crafts, established in 1816 by Prince Regent Dom João VI) and the International Youth Day are celebrated. The date, which was established in a 1999 UN resolution, was highlighted in History Todayfrom the National Radio Agency in 2015.
Also on August 13th, the birth of legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock completes 125 years. Known as a master of suspense and author of classics such as “Psycho”, “Rear Window” and “The Birds”, he was featured in History Today in 2015 and the program Stay Tunedfrom the TV Brazilin 2019:
To close the week, we have a centennial. On August 14, 1924, the cartoonist from Pernambuco Péricles de Andrade Maranhão was born. With strips published in the magazine O Cruzeiro, he became famous as the creator of the character “Amigo da Onça” (based on the national expression related to false friendships). The expression was highlighted in the Rio Magazine in 2020 and the cartoonist himself had the story told by Reporter Brazil in 2014.
August 2024
11
Birth of Portuguese jurist, poet and activist Thomás Antônio Gonzaga (280 years old)
Death of American actor Robin Williams (10 years)
Birth of historian and professor Jerônimo de Viveiros (140 years old) from Maranhão – from a family from Alcantara, in São Luís he taught at the Liceu Maranhense, was a member of the Historical and Geographical Institute of Maranhão, and was also a technical consultant for the Regional Geography Directory of Maranhão. He made a broad contribution to regional historiography, and his most notable work was the “History of Commerce of Maranhão”, from 1954.
The ship Arapahoe transmits the first SOS request via radio (115 years ago)
Brazilian Men’s Volleyball Team (silver generation) wins silver medal at the Los Angeles Olympic Games (40 years) – volleyball’s first medal at the Olympic Games
Lawyer’s Day – in memory of the creation of the country’s first two law schools in 1827. This day also includes Pendura Day, celebrated by Brazilian law students who go to restaurants, eat and drink, and then have their bill “pended”
Father’s Day – an unofficial mobile celebration in Brazil, which was created in 1953 by Brazilian publicist Sylvio Bhering, whose celebration date can occur between August 8th and 14th of each year in the Gregorian calendar, on the second Sunday
12
Birth of Rio de Janeiro politician Fernando Collor de Mello (75 years old) – President of Brazil between 1990 and 1992
Death of American guitarist and pioneer in the development of electric musical instruments and techniques Les Paul (15 years)
Birth of British guitarist and composer Mark Knopfler (age 75) – known for his work with the British rock band Dire Straits
Death of British writer Ian Fleming (aged 60) – creator of the character James Bond
International Youth Day – celebration established by the UN in its resolution No. 54/120 of 17 December 1999, confirming a proposal from the “World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth”, held in the city of Lisbon between 8 and 12 August 1998
National Arts Day – unofficially celebrated by Brazilians to mark the date of the founding of the Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Crafts, which was created on August 12, 1816 by a decree of the then Prince Regent of Brazil, Dom João VI, under the inspiration of the French Artistic Mission
Foundation of the Electro Club football club (120 years) – first name given to Botafogo Football Club
Foundation of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Dorothea by Saint Paula Frassinetti (190 years) – currently, the Dorothean Sisters are present in various parts of the world, working in schools, parishes and needy communities
13
Birth of British director and producer Alfred Hitchcock (125 years)
Birth of French tightrope walker Philippe Petit (75 years old) – made an illegal crossing between the two twin towers in New York at the age of 24
Death of Rio de Janeiro musician, composer and choro mandolin player Jacob Pick Bittencourt, known as Jacob do Bandolim (aged 55)
Death of economist and politician from Pernambuco Eduardo Campos (10 years ago)
Birth of the Portuguese journalist and diplomat naturalized Brazilian Hipólito da Costa (250 years old) – from London he began to regularly edit what is considered the first Brazilian newspaper: the “Correio Braziliense” or “Armazém Literário”, which circulated from June 1, 1808 to 1823
Birth of Helena Meirelles, a guitarist, singer and composer from Mato Grosso do Sul (100 years old)
Death of São Paulo country music singer João Salvador Perez, known as Tonico from the duo “Tonico and Tinoco” (aged 30)
At Ginásio Nilson Nelson, Raul Seixas performs for the last time before his death (35 years)
Foundation of the Bandeirante Movement in Brazil (105 years)
Rio Innovation Week kicks off
14
Birth of Pernambuco cartoonist Péricles de Andrade Maranhão (100 years old) – creator of the character “Amigo da Onça”, whose stories were published in the magazine “O Cruzeiro”. In the same magazine, he collaborated on the Pif-Paf section, written by Millôr Fernandes
Birth of the journalist and writer from Maranhão, José Carlos Lago Burnett, Lago Burnett (95 years old) – considered one of the exponents of the Generation of 45. In Rio de Janeiro, he worked at Jornal do Brasil
15
Birth of French politician and soldier Napoleon Bonaparte (255 years)
Death of the writer and journalist from Rio de Janeiro, Euclides da Cunha (aged 115)
Birth of businesswoman Maurina Dunshee de Abranches Pereira Carneiro, Countess Pereira Carneiro (125 years old) from Rio de Janeiro – she was the CEO of Jornal do Brasil and, under her direction, it achieved great national and international prestige, subjecting it to an editorial, graphic and industrial overhaul that changed the history of the Brazilian press. She was classified by the English newspaper “The Guardian” as “one of the most influential women in South America” and by the French magazine Marie Claire as “one of the 50 most important women in the world”.
Foundation of the Society of Jesus (490 years)
Inauguration of the Panama Canal (110 years)
16
Death of the composer from Rio de Janeiro, Carlos Moreira de Castro, known as Carlos Cachaça (aged 25) – one of the founders of GRES Estação Primeira de Mangueira
Death of São Paulo journalist, radio broadcaster and composer Denis Brean (aged 55)
Birth of American jazz pianist and composer William John Bill Evans (95 years old) – an American pianist, considered one of the most important jazz musicians in history, and still one of the references of post-50s jazz piano
Anniversary of Teresina (PI) (172 years)
17
Death of Rio de Janeiro painter and teacher Orlando Teruz (aged 40)
Birth of pianist, accordionist, arranger, singer and composer from Acre João Donato (90 years old)
Death of the politician, translator, poet and publicist from Maranhão, Manuel Odorico Mendes (160 years old) – best known for being the author of the first complete translations into Portuguese of the works of Virgil and Homer, he was also a precursor of modern creative translation
Foundation of the National Association of Newspapers (45 years)
National Cultural Heritage Day
