Abel Acácio de Almeida Botelho

Abel Acácio de Almeida Botelho (European Portuguese: [ɐˈβɛl ɐˈkasju ð(ɨ) alˈmɐjðɐ βuˈteʎu];23 September 1855 or 1856 – 1917), was a Portuguese military officer and diplomat who distinguished himself as a writer. A representative of Naturalism in Portugal, he wrote, among others, O Barão de Lavos and O Livro de Alda, the first two titles in his "Patologia Social" series. In 1911, he took part in the commission that selected and approved the draft of what would become the current flag of Portugal.

Biography

Botelho was born in Tabuaço, a small town in Portugal's Douro region, son of Luís Carlos de Almeida Botelho, an infantry major and a high school teacher in Vila Real and Maria Preciosa de Azevedo Leitão, a mother descendant of wealthy farmers. His father had intended him to attend a university course, but his premature death (Botelho lost his father at 12 years old) dictated another direction in the career of the young Abel.

As a teen he attended the Military College in Lisbon from 1867 to 1872, joining Escola Politécnica de Lisboa up until 1876. Between 1876 and 1878 he attended the General Staff course at the military academy, beginning in the arms career as a simple private soldier, he climbed the highest ranks of the army, having become a colonel. He married in 1881 to a lady of noble origin.

Among other functions, he served as chief of staff of the First Military Division (Lisbon). He belonged to several associations (Academy of Sciences, Association of Portuguese Journalists and Writers (both in Lisbon and Porto), Press Association, Geographical Society of Lisbon, presented in São Paulo in 1910 on the occasion of a Geography congress where he served as a delegate, among others).