Inocêncio Francisco da Silva

Inocêncio Francisco da Silva (28 September 1810 – 27 June 1876), often referred simply as Innocencio (the standard spelling of his name at the time) was the most distinguished Portuguese bibliographer, who compiled seven centuries' worth of information about Portuguese-language authors up to the mid-19th century. He authored the monumental Diccionario Bibliographico Portuguez, which was continued by others following his death.

Biography Inocêncio Francisco da Silva was born in 1810, in the parish of Mercês, in Lisbon, the son of Inocêncio Francisco da Silva and Francisca Henriques. The family was of limited economic resources, and his mother died while he was still young.

From 1825 to 1830, he studied drawing, the humanities, French, and, for two years, he attended the , a professional technical education institution of accounting. By this time, he independently read Rousseau, Volney, and Raynal, though he disliked Voltaire. From 1830 to 1833, he attended a three-year course of Mathematics in the , in which he was distinguished with prizes of excellence.

That year, on 24 July 1833, in the context of the Liberal Wars, the constitutionalist troops led by the Duke of Terceira landed in the Miguelist-controlled city of Lisbon after several victories in the south of the country, and were welcomed as liberators. Inocêncio Francisco da Silva became at this time a volunteer soldier in Terceira's ranks, until the end of the war the year that followed. Shortly after, he was elected captain of the National Guard. He became a member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences He was also a collaborator in journals O Panorama (1837-1868) and Revista Contemporânea de Portugal e Brasil (1859-1865).

Inocêncio Francisco da Silva, choosing Demócrito as his symbolic name, joined the Freemasonry, a member of the masonic lodges "5 de Novembro" and "Pureza", rising to the degrees 7 of the French Rite and 33 of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. ("Farewell, the martyrdom is no more!"). He was interred at Prazeres Cemetery. His valuable library of rare books was sold after his death, many of his books ending up in the collection of Emperor Peter II of Brazil.