Paulo Freire: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Sep. 15, 2026

Facts

Born	September 19, 1921 • Recife • Brazil
Died	May 2, 1997 (aged 75) • São Paulo • Brazil
Subjects Of Study	education

default image

Augusto de Campos

Brazilian poet and critic

default image

Afrânio Coutinho

Brazilian writer and literary critic

Paulo Coelho smiling in a close-up portrait, wearing a black jacket, with photographers and camera flashes in the blurred background at the Cannes Film Festival.

Paulo Coelho

Brazilian author

default image

Rachel de Queiroz

Brazilian novelist

default image

Rubem Fonseca

Brazilian author

default image

Nélida Piñon

Brazilian author

Portrait of Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis wearing glasses and a dark suit, with a full beard and mustache, looking directly at the camera.

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

Brazilian author

default image

Clarice Lispector

Brazilian author

default image

Ariano Suassuna

Brazilian writer

Gilberto Freyre

Gilberto Freyre

Brazilian sociologist

default image

Érico Lopes Veríssimo

Brazilian author

Portrait of Cecilia Meireles in orange ink on a 100 Cruzeiros 1989 Brazilian banknote, surrounded by geometric and floral patterns.

Cecília Meireles

Brazilian poet

default image

Basílio da Gama

Brazilian poet

default image

Gregório de Matos Guerra

Brazilian poet

Andrade, Oswald de

Oswald de Andrade

Brazilian author

Carlos Drummond de Andrade

Carlos Drummond de Andrade

Brazilian poet and journalist

default image

Adonias Filho

Brazilian author

default image

José de Santa Rita Durão

Brazilian poet

Gonçalves Dias

Antônio Gonçalves Dias

Brazilian poet

default image

Graciliano Ramos

Brazilian author