Author. He was a 19th-century Portuguese writer who was a major promoter of theatre in Portugal. He is considered the greatest figure of Portuguese Romanticism and a true revolutionary and humanist, being also famous as a poet, playwright, orator, journalist, and politician. He proposed the construction of the D. Maria II National Theatre and the creation of the Conservatory of Dramatic Art. Born João Leitão da Silva in the city of Porto, at an early age, Garrett changed his name to João Baptista da Silva Leitão, adding a name from his godfather and altering the order of his surnames. In 1809, his family fled the second invasion of Napoleon's troops, seeking refuge in Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira Island, Azores. While in the Azores, he received his education from his uncle, D. Frei Alexandre da Sagrada Família, who was the 25th Bishop of Angra and former Bishop of Malacca and Timor. In 1818, he attended the University of Coimbra Law School, graduating in 1820 and learning about literature and politics, which would impact his life. In 1818, he published "O Retrato de Vénus" or "The Portrait of Venus," a piece that was considered "materialist, atheist, and immoral." In 1818, he adopted his aristocratic pen name, "Almeida Garrett," which was his grandmother's maiden name. Although he did not take an active part in the 1820 Liberal Revolution in Porto, he contributed with two patriotic verses, the "Hymno Constitucional" or "Constitutional Hymn" and the "Hymno Patriótico" or "Patriotic Hymn," which were distributed in the streets of Porto by friends. After the "Vilafrancada," a reactionary coup d'état led by the Infante D. Miguel in 1823, he was forced to seek exile in England for his liberalism. He had married Luísa Cândida Midosi, a 14-year-old bride. While in England, in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, he began his association with Romanticism, being subject to the first-hand influences of William Shakespeare and Walter Scott, as well as to that of Gothic aesthetics. Early in 1825, Garrett traveled to France to write the poems "Camões" in 1825 and "Dona Branca" in 1826, usually considered the first Romantic works in Portuguese literature. In 1826, he returned to Portugal, where he settled for two years and founded the newspapers "O Portuguez" and "O Chronista." In 1828, under the rule of King Miguel of Portugal, he was again forced into exile to England. While in England, he published "Adozinda" and performed his tragedy "Catão" at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth. Together with Alexandre Herculano and Joaquim António de Aguiar, he participated in the Landing of Mindelo during the Liberal Wars. Garrett was a soldier in the famous Academic Battalion. When a constitutional monarchy was established, he briefly served as Consul General to Brussels. Upon his return to Portugal, he entered Parliament in 1837, making his mark as an orator, and was asked to start a national theater. During this period, he wrote his historical plays "Gil Vicente," "D. Filipa de Vilhena," and "O Alfageme de Santarém." He ended his relationship with his wife Luísa Midosi with a legal separation in 1835 and became romantically involved with 17-year-old Adelaide Deville Pastor in 1836. Before Pastor's premature death after child birth in 1841, the couple had two sons, who died in infancy, and a daughter, Maria Adelaide, born in 1841. He was romantically involved with the Viscountess of Luz, who inspired many of his poems. Later in his life, he was romantically involved with Rosa de Montúfar y García-Infante, a Spanish noblewoman. In 1843, Garrett published "Romanceiro e Cancioneiro Geral" or "General Novel and Chansonnier," a collection of folklore, and two years later, he wrote the first of two volumes of his historical novel "O Arco de Santana" or "The Arch of Santana," which was fully published in 1850. This novel signified a change in Garrett's style, leading to a more complex and subjective prose with which he experimented at length in the 1846 "Viagens na Minha Terra" or "Travels in My Homeland." His innovative manner was also felt in his poem collections "Flores sem Fruto" or "Flowers without Fruit" in 1844 and "Folhas Caídas" or "Fallen Leaves" in 1853. In 1851, for his patriotism and service, he was created viscount by Queen Maria II of Portugal and served as minister for foreign affairs for a short time in 1852, remaining active in political life until his death. After he died of cancer, his remains were interred three times: Originally, his remains were interred in a mausoleum in Prazeres Cemetery, being later moved to the Monastery of Jerónimos on May 3, 1903, and were ultimately moved to the National Pantheon on December 1, 1966. On the 100th anniversary of his death, a statue of him was erected in front of the Porto City Hall.