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Cândido Rondon

Cândido Mariano de Silva Rondon (1865-1956) was a Brazilian explorer who is most famous for exploring with Teddy Roosevelt during Roosevelt's exploration of the Rio Roosevelt in the Mato Grosso state in Brazil. The current Brazilian state of Rondonia is named after him. He is the founder of the Fundação Nacional do Índio or Funai, and he was also promoted to the rank of Marshal, making him Brazil's highest ranking military officer ever.

1 Bibliography
2 External Links

Contents

Early Life

He was born in 1865 in Mimoso, a small village in the Mato Grosso state. His father was of Portuguese ancestry, and his mother was an Indian. Both of his parents died when he was very young and he was raised by his uncle. After finishing high school at the age of 16, he taught elementary school for two years, and then joined the Brazilian army. On joining the military, he entered officer's school and graduated in 1888 as a second lieutenant. He was also involved with a coup that overthrew the Emperor of Brazil, the only American monarch.

As an Army Engineer

In 1890, he was commisioned as an army engineer with the Telegraphic commission, and helped build the first telegraph line across the state of Mato Grosso. This telegraph line was finally finished in 1895, and afterwards, Rondon started construction on a road that lead from Rio de Janiero to Cuiaba, the capital of Mato Grosso. Until this roadway was complete, the only way between these two cities was by river transport. Throughout his life, Rondon laid over 4,000 miles of telegraph line through the jungles of Brazil.

Explorations

Bibliography

Baker, Daniel ed. Explorers and Discoverers of the World. Detroit: Gale Research, 1993

External Links

Candido Rondon: A friend of the Indians is a good site to learn more about Rondon's involvement with Funai.

Candido Rondon: Explorer, Geographer, Peacemaker: 1865 - 1958 has a timeline and good information about Rondon's life and work.