author

Lourenço Baeta Neves

1876–1948

Best known as a Brazilian engineer and public figure, he wrote about forests, water, and public safety with the practical eye of someone deeply involved in infrastructure and civic planning. His surviving work has the feel of a technical mind trying to solve urgent public problems.

1 Audiobook

Preservation of forests as a measure of public safety Address before the 17th National Irrigation Congress, Spokane, Wash., August, 1909

Preservation of forests as a measure of public safety Address before the 17th National Irrigation Congress, Spokane, Wash., August, 1909

by Lourenço Baeta Neves

About the author

Born in Ouro Preto in 1876, Lourenço Baeta Neves trained in civil engineering, mining, and metallurgy, and built a career that moved between teaching, technical work, and public service. He was associated with the Escola Livre de Engenharia in Minas Gerais, where he taught subjects linked to water, sewage, and hydraulics.

His professional path is closely tied to sanitation and urban improvement projects in Minas Gerais. Sources on his career highlight his role in planning work for Juiz de Fora, his service as mayor of Poços de Caldas from 1920 to 1922, and his place as the first president of Crea-MG in the 1930s.

As an author, he is remembered today mainly for technical and civic-minded writing rather than for fiction. The work most readily available in major digital libraries is Preservation of forests as a measure of public safety, which reflects his lasting interest in the connection between engineering, natural resources, and the public good. He died in Belo Horizonte in 1948.