J. M. Latino (José Maria Latino) Coelho

Born in Lisbon in 1825 and known as Latino Coelho, José Maria Latino Coelho built an unusually wide-ranging career. He trained in military engineering and went on to serve as an army officer, while also teaching at the Polytechnic School of Lisbon.

He became well known as a writer, journalist, philologist, historian, and essayist, and he also played a public role in Portuguese politics. Sources consistently describe him as a figure of many professions at once, combining technical education with literary and civic interests.

He died in Sintra in 1891. For readers today, he stands out as one of those 19th-century authors whose books came from a life lived in many worlds at the same time: the classroom, the press, public office, and the world of ideas.