Page 33 - Textos de Matemática Vol. 44

NATA´LIA BEBIANO’S LEGACY 23
be mentioned in Scribner’s five volume Biographical Dictionary of Mathemati- cians. Da Cunha wrote ‘Princ´ıpios Mathem´aticos’ containing a sizable part of the mathematical knowledge available in his time: geometry, arithmetics, even the solution of differential equations and calculus of variations. It contained many fresh and fruitful ideas, applied in its exposition rigor unusual for the time in treating convergent series and differential calculus, and although it was distributed from France, due perhaps to its excessive conciseness it had no larger impact.
Nat´alia’s article about Bento de Jesus Cara¸ca and Ruy Lu´ıs Gomes show her a very apt writer of biographies.
Bento de Jesus Cara¸ca, born in April 18, 1901 was an illustrious citizen with much impact on Portugal’s cultural life. He studied at Instituto Superior de Ciˆencias Econ´omicas e Financeiras and soon developed a passion for mathe- matics. A rheumatic disease that did irreversible harm to his heart in 1919 did not stop him to brilliantly conclude his student days. In 1924-5 he was already giving courses in Higher Mathematics, Infinitesimal Analysis, and Probability. He published books on numerical integration and polynomial interpolation, lec- tures on algebra and analysis, and vectorial calculus. In 1940 he founded the Gazeta de Matem´atica (the very journal in which we find the biography we write about) and was one of the forces that led to foundation of the Portuguese Mathematical Society whose president he was 1943-44. But most important for portuguese society was his work to educate the people. In 1941 he founded the Biblioteca Cosmos which edited more than 140 volumes dedicated to making culture an integral part of the individual. Here his most famous work, ‘Con- ceitos fundamentais da Matem´atica’ was published. It became a bestseller, and witnessed its third edition with annotations in 2000. He was also an indefati- gable public lecturer. Nat´alia tells us interesting details about his contention with portuguese essayist Ant´onio S´ergio who simply denied the possibility to publicize science going so far as to accusing Carac¸a to ‘incite to philosophical unculture, to incomprehension of genius, to barbarization of the readers’. The cultured man has according to Carac¸a conscience of his position in the universe and society, conscience of human dignity, and ‘makes perfecting of his interior life his highest priority and ultimate objective of life’. Carac¸a is interested in the arts, less in their own right than as one of the forms of creative expression and as one of the possibilities for attaining beauty.
When Salazar applied for Portugal’s membership at the UNO, Cara¸ca pro- tested together with about hundred and fifty others signatories in a letter to the President of the Republic: as long as democracy was not installed, membership would contradict the Charter of the United Nations Organization. As one of the heads of the Movimento de Unidade Democr´atica he is apprehended by the