Teixeira Mendes

Teixeira Mendes was a Brazilian philosopher and mathematician who was born in Caxias, Maranhão, in 1855. He studied engineering at the Escola Politécnica of the University of São Paulo, graduating in 1934. He then worked as a professor and researcher at the same institution, where he founded the Department of Physics in 1936. He also collaborated with the Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas (CBPF) and the Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT). He published many papers on various topics of physics, such as thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, general relativity, astrophysics and mathematics. He was particularly interested in the foundations of quantum theory and the interpretation of quantum phenomena. He also developed a geometric algebra that could unify the different branches of physics and mathematics. He was a close friend and colleague of David Bohm, with whom he discussed the implications of quantum theory for philosophy and psychology. He started his activities as a science communicator in the 1930s, writing for the magazine Chacaras e Quintaes. In 1947, he began a column of science divulgation in the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, which he maintained for 55 years, until his death. He also wrote books and pamphlets for the general public, explaining the concepts and discoveries of science and medicine. He was one of the founders and presidents of the Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência (SBPC), an organization that promotes scientific research and education in Brazil. He was also a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences of the Third World. He received many awards and honors for his contributions to science and society, such as the Order of Scientific Merit from the Brazilian government in 1971, and the Kalinga Prize from UNESCO in 1979. He died of natural causes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1927, at the age of 72. He is regarded as one of the most influential and respected Brazilian philosophers and mathematicians, and the creator of the national motto and flag of Brazil. He coined the phrase Order and Progress based on the positivist motto Love as a principle, order as a basis, progress as a goal. He also designed the green-yellow-blue flag with a blue globe and white stars, representing the sky of Rio de Janeiro on the day of the proclamation of the republic. ¹