Patron

Josué de Castro

A Physician, professor, geographer, sociologist, writer, politician and intellectual, Josué Apolônio de Castro made fight against hunger, his banner throughout his life. Born in September the 5th, 1908, in Recife, Pernambuco, the only son of Manoel Apolônio de Castro and Josepha Carneiro de Castro.

He took his secondary studies in Recife, studied Medicine for three years in Salvador and finished his course in Rio de Janeiro, at 21. Afterwards he was a medical resident at the University of Columbia and at the Medical Center, in New York.

The author of dozens of books, some translated into 25 languages, he published “Geography of Hunger”, his most known book, in 1946, when he became an international reference in the theme and one of the greatest scholars on the causes of extreme poverty in Brazil and in the world.  He was appointed twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.

He received many prizes, among them, the “José Veríssimo” (1946), given by the Brazilian Academy of Letters; “Roosevelt”, given by the Political Sciences Academy of the USA, for his book “Geography of Hunger” (1952); “The International Peace Prize” (1954), for his works and actions against hunger in the world.

Some of his works are: “The crab cycle” (1935); “Food and Race” (1936); “Brazilian Food in Light of Human Geography” (1937); “Geopolitics of Hunger” (1951); “The black book on hunger” (1960); “Six feet under the earth and a coffin” (1965); “Men and crabs” (1967); “The demographic explosion and hunger in the world” (1968).

For his progressive ideas, he was obliged by the military regime to leave the country.  He died in the exile, in Paris, France, in September, 24th, 1973, at 65 years of age. He was buried in the São João Batista Cemetery, in Rio de Janeiro.

Learn more:

Centenary of his birth (content in english)
Projeto Memória (content in portuguese)
Centro Josué de Castro (content in portuguese)