The Most Famous

NOBLEMEN from Brazil

This page contains a list of the greatest Brazilian Noblemen. The pantheon dataset contains 1,415 Noblemen, 5 of which were born in Brazil. This makes Brazil the birth place of the 25th most number of Noblemen behind Switzerland, and Hungary.

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Brazilian Noblemen of all time. This list of famous Brazilian Noblemen is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

1. Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846 - 1921)

With an HPI of 71.13, Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil is the most famous Brazilian Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 41 different languages on wikipedia.

Dona Isabel (29 July 1846 – 14 November 1921), called "the Redemptress", was the Princess Imperial (heiress presumptive to the throne) of the Empire of Brazil and the Empire's regent on three occasions. Born in Rio de Janeiro as the eldest daughter of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and Empress Teresa Cristina, she was a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza (Portuguese: Bragança). After the deaths of her two brothers in infancy, she was recognized as her father's heiress presumptive. She married a French prince, Gaston, Count of Eu, in an arranged marriage and they had three sons. During her father's absences abroad, Isabel acted as regent. In her third and final regency, she actively promoted and ultimately signed a law, named Lei Áurea or the Golden Law, emancipating all slaves in Brazil. Even though the action was broadly popular, there was strong opposition to her succession to the throne. Her gender, strong Catholic faith, and marriage to a foreigner were seen as impediments against her, and the emancipation of the slaves generated dislike among powerful planters. In 1889, her family was deposed in a military coup, and she spent the last 30 years of her life in exile in France.

2. Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará (1875 - 1940)

With an HPI of 63.18, Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará is the 2nd most famous Brazilian Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Dom Pedro de Alcântara of Orléans-Braganza, Prince of Grão Pará (15 October 1875 – 29 January 1940) was the first-born son of Dona Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil and Prince Gaston of Orléans, Count of Eu, and as such, was born second-in-line to the imperial throne of Brazil, during the reign of his maternal grandfather, Emperor Dom Pedro II, until the empire's abolition. He went into exile in Europe with his mother when his grandfather was deposed in 1889, and grew up largely in France at a family apartment in Boulogne-sur-Seine, and at his father's castle, the Château d'Eu, in Normandy. In 1908, he renounced his claim to the defunct throne of Brazil in an act whose legal validity is continually disputed, by virtue of which some royalists recognize him as having been Head of the Imperial House of Brazil.

3. Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil (1845 - 1847)

With an HPI of 61.91, Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil is the 3rd most famous Brazilian Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Dom Afonso (23 February 1845 – 11 June 1847) was the Prince Imperial and heir apparent to the throne of the Empire of Brazil. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the eldest child of Emperor Dom Pedro II and Dona Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies, and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza. Afonso died from epilepsy at the age of two, devastating the emperor. The following year, Pedro and Teresa Cristina had another son, Pedro Afonso, but he too died in infancy. After the loss of his second son, doubts grew in Pedro II's mind that the imperial system could be viable. He still had an heir in his daughter Isabel, but he was unconvinced that a female would prove to be a suitable successor. He showed less concern about the effects his policies had on the monarchy, provided his daughter Isabel with no training for her role as potential empress, and failed to cultivate her acceptance within the country's political class. Pedro II's lack of interest in protecting the imperial system ultimately led to its downfall.

4. Luís of Orléans-Braganza (1878 - 1920)

With an HPI of 59.71, Luís of Orléans-Braganza is the 4th most famous Brazilian Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza (26 January 1878 – 26 March 1920), nicknamed "the Perfect Prince", was the second son of Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil and Prince Gaston, Count of Eu, and patriarch of the Vassouras branch of the House of Orléans-Braganza. His maternal grandfather, Pedro II of Brazil, was the last emperor of Brazil. He was exiled along with his family as the result of the 1889 coup d'état that resulted in the formation of the republic. In 1908, the year he married, his older brother Pedro renounced his claim to succeed his mother in her claim to the imperial throne, leaving Dom Luís as her heir. In this role, he worked with monarchists in Brazil in several attempts to restore the monarchy. At the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted as an officer with the British Armed Forces and saw action in Flanders where he contracted a virulent form of rheumatism that caused his death at the age of 42. His efforts on behalf of the Allies of World War I saw him decorated by Belgium, France and Great Britain.

5. Diane, Duchess of Württemberg (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 59.51, Diane, Duchess of Württemberg is the 5th most famous Brazilian Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Diane, Dowager Duchess of Württemberg (née Princess Diane of Orléans; born 24 March 1940) is a French-German painter, sculptor, writer and philanthropist. She is the widow of Carl, Duke of Württemberg, head of the House of Württemberg. She is the fourth daughter and sixth child of Henri, Count of Paris, Orléanist pretender to the throne of France, and his wife, Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza.

6. Pedro Luiz of Orléans-Braganza (1983 - 2009)

With an HPI of 39.94, Pedro Luiz of Orléans-Braganza is the 6th most famous Brazilian Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Pedro Luiz of Orléans-Bragança (Pedro Luiz Maria José Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 12 January 1983 – 1 June 2009) was the eldest son of Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza and Princess Christine de Ligne, being the grandson of Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria. His brothers were Rafael, Amélia and Maria Gabriela, he was the great-great-grandson of Princess Isabel, the last Princess Imperial of Brazil, and of the Prince Imperial consort Gaston of Orléans, Count of Eu, and great-great-grandson of Emperor Pedro II and Empress Teresa Cristina. His childless uncle, Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza, is one of the two current claimants to the former Brazilian crown, having Pedro's father, Antônio, as his immediate successor. As such, some Brazilian monarchists expected Pedro Luiz to eventually become the pretender to the abolished throne. Instead, his younger brother, Rafael, took his place in the line of succession upon legal declaration of Pedro Luiz' death in the crash of Air France Flight 447.

People

Pantheon has 6 people classified as Brazilian noblemen born between 1845 and 1983. Of these 6, 1 (16.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Brazilian noblemen include Diane, Duchess of Württemberg. The most famous deceased Brazilian noblemen include Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil, Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará, and Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil. As of April 2024, 1 new Brazilian noblemen have been added to Pantheon including Pedro Luiz of Orléans-Braganza.

Overlapping Lives

Which Noblemen were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Noblemen since 1700.