Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/772

736 prince regent, afterward King John VI. When the independence of Brazil was proclaimed and the constiution had been framed. Pereira entered the senate in 1828 for the province of Matto Grosso, and on 16 May, 1837, he became minister of war under the regent Diogo Antonio Feijo. He pub- lished "Tratado elementario sobre mecanismos," translated from the French of Fournier, with ad- ditions, •' Investigac;aos tocando os mais volumi nosos dos corpos de igual superficie," " Diccionario topographico do Emperio do Brazil," " Historia geral dos animales," " Elementos de Geodesia," " Elementos dos mecanicos," and " Applica§ao de Algebra a Geometria ou geometria analytica," ac- cording to the system of Lacroix. These were all published in Rio Janeiro between 1845 and 1850.

PEREIRA, Nuno Marques, Brazilian theolo- gian, b. in Cayru, Bahia, in 1652 ; d. in Lisbon in 1718. He entered the cliurch, became famous as a theologian, and wrote " Extracto narrative de um peregrmo em America" (Lisbon, 1718), in which there are many curious and interesting notices about his native countrv. The work is very rare.

PEREIRA DA SILVA, Jofto Manoel, Bra- zilian author, b. in Rio Janeiro in 1818. He re- ceived his early education in Brazil, but finished his studies in Paris, was graduated in law, and travelled through Europe. In 1841 he returned to Rio Janeiro, was admitted to the bar, and prac- tised his profession with success. In 1844 he was elected to congress by the Liberal party, but dis- appointed his friends by taking his seat among the Conservatives, and has been since a supporter of the government. He has attained a wide reputa- tion as a man of letters, and his " Historia da fun- da§ao do imperio Brazileiro," published simulta- neously in Portuguese and French, is a standard work (6 vols., Rio Janeiro and Paris, 1864-'8). His other works include " La litterature Portuguaise, son passe, son etat actuel " (Paris, 1868) ; " Plutar- cho Brazileiro " (2 vols., Rio Janeiro, 1866) ; and " Obras politicas e literarias " (1868). He has in preparation a general history of the conquest and civili,zation of Brazil.

PEREIRE, Jacob Emile, French banker, b. in Bordeaux, 8 Dec, 1800 ; d. in Paris, 6 Jan., 1875. He was of Hebrew descent. In 1835 he organized a company for the construction of the Paris and Saint Germain railroad, which yielded him an enormous fortune. During the whole of Napoleon III.'s reign he engaged in gigantic speculations, founded the Credit mobilier, and in 1855 the mari- time company that was named afterward the Com- pagnie generale transatlantique, which was the first French steamship company whose vessels ran regularly between New York and Havre. In asso- ciation with his brother Isaac he devoted much time to building up trade between France and America. Under their influence lines were estab- lished to the West Indies, Mexico, and South America. A steamship, named for them the Pe- reire, was then the fastest on the Atlantic, and in 1867 made a trip from New York to Havre in eight days and sixteen hours. Emile Pereire was elected to the corps legislatif in 1863, and his brother Isaac in 1863 and 1869. When the Credit mobilier be- came bankrupt, he voluntarily contributed $16,- 000,000 to help that institution. A boulevard in Paris is named Pereire. When the brothers died, their. fortune was estimated at $60,000,000.

PEREZ, Jose Joaquin, Chilian statesman, b. in Santiago in 1801. He studied in the university of his native city, and soon after graduation was appointed secretary of legation at Washington, and then at Paris, where from 1829 till 1831 he was minister plenipotentiary. Soon afterward he was sent to London to negotiate a loan, and in 1836 he was minister at Buenos Ayres. On his return he was elected to congres'*, entered the cabinet of Gen. Buines in 1845 as secretary of the treasury, and in 1849 took the portfolio of foreign relations. In 1852 he was again a member of con- gress, and later he became president of the cham- ber of deputies, and was elected to the senate. He was then appointed councillor of state, and in 1861 he was elected president of the republic, form- ing a coalition of the moderate wings of both par- ties, which produced the happiest results. In 1863 he opened the railroads from Santiago to Valpa- raiso and to Curico, initiated many other lines, and spread telegraphic communication throughout the country. The war with Spain in 1864-'6 led to no consequences of note except an offensive and defensive alliance with Peru. In 1866 he was re- elected for five years, and began a successful war against the Araucanians. During Errazuriz's ad- ministration, which lasted from 1871 till 1876, Perez was elected senator and councillor of state. In 1876 he became president of the senate, but he has lived in retirement for several years.

PEREZ, Jose Joaquin, West Indian author, b. in the city of Santo Domingo in 1845. He began to write for the press when very young, and entered the service of the government, in which he has filled several offices. He has been a member of the Dominican congress and secretary of the lega- tion to Hayti. Perez has published many poems that have made his name familiar throughout Spanish America, has written a drama entitled " Anacaona," and is also the author of " Fantasias indigenas," a series of narratives concerning the legends and traditions of the aborigines of Hayti, which has been higlily praised (1882).

PEREZ, Juan Pio (pay'-reth), Mexican anti- quarian, b. in Merida, Yucatan, 11 March, 1798 ; d. there, 6 March, 1859. After he had acquired his primary education he studied at the Seminary of Ildefonso, in his native city, then entered public life, and served his country in various employments. He collected many antiquities and much mfor- mation about the history of Yucatan, and published " Cronologia Antigua Yucateca " (Merida, 1847). This work has been published in Spanish in the " Registro Yucateco " (Madrid), in English in the work of John L. Stephens on Yucatan (1843), and in French in those of Brasseur de Bourbourg. He studied the Yucatec or Maya language, and formed a " Diccionario Maya," of which Mr. Stephens brought a copy to the United States. This re- mained in manuscript at his death, but was after- ward published (Merida, 1877). There remain in manuscript another important work, " Gramatica de la^ lengua Maya." and many pamphlets.

PEREZ, Pedro Ildefonso, Mexican poet, b. in Merida, Yucatan, 23 Jan., 1826 : d. there, 21 Feb., 1869. After he had acquired a primary education he abandoned his studies on account of poverty, and accepted an employment in the public administration, where he gave his spare time to literature and poetry. He became an enthusiastic admirer of the Spanish poet Zorrilla. and soon began to imitate him. His first works were known only by the friends of the poet, but some years afterward they were published in the " Registro Yucateco." In 1849 Perez was one of the founders of the Academy of sciences and literature, before which he read his work " Los Martires de la Independencia," which was published in the " Mosaico," a literary paper. In 1856 he contributed to the for- mation of another literary paper, " Pensaraiento,"