Orlando Ribeiro

Orlando Ribeiro was a prominent Portuguese geographer and historian, who is considered as the renovator of geography in Portugal and the best-known Portuguese geographer internationally. He had a wide range of interests and a very personal view of the world, combining naturalistic and humanistic perspectives. He graduated in Geography and History in 1932, and completed his doctorate at the University of Lisbon in 1935. He lived and worked in Paris, Coimbra, Goa, and Lisbon, where he founded the Centro de Estudos Geográficos and the journal Finisterra. He published several works of synthesis and analysis, such as Portugal, o Mediterrâneo e o Atlântico (1945), in which he explored the dual nature of Portugal as an Atlantic and Mediterranean country. He also participated in the scientific international scene and visited several places around the world, such as Cape Verde, Azores, Brazil, Morocco, and China. He was awarded several prizes and honors for his contributions to geography and history. He died in Lisbon in 1997, at the age of 86.