CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

João da Silveira Caldeira

Brazilian scientist and museum director (1800-1854)

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 16, 2024
Entity authorityQ56741272 ↗
Source-derived summary

João da Sylveira Caldeira (28 June 1800 – 4 July 1854) was a Brazilian scientist who worked at the National Museum, where he set up the first chemical laboratory in 1824.

Caldeira was born in Rio de Janeiro. He graduated wit a degree in medicine from the University of Edinburgh and studied chemistry in France with Louis Nicolas Vauquelin (1763–1829) and André Laugier (1770–1832) and mineralogist René Just Haüy (1743–1822). He worked in Paris as a preparator at the Jardin de Plantes before returning to Brazil. Here he worked on revising the Flora Braziliensis by José Mariano da Conceição Velloso. He taught chemistry at the military school and in 1823 he was appointed director of the National Museum where he set up a chemical laboratory in 1824. In 1827 he was transferred to the government mint. In 1854, he committed suicide, cutting himself after failing to kill himself using prussic acid.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “João da Silveira Caldeira” as brazilian scientist and museum director (1800-1854). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around João, Silveira and Caldeira.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1800, 1854, 1824, 1763—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1800-06-28. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with João, Silveira and Caldeira providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “João da Silveira Caldeira”, the useful work is to connect “brazilian scientist and museum director (1800-1854)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 16, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q56741272. VIAF identifies the subject as 75714997. The Library of Congress control number is n2004122292. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1800, 1854, 1824 and 1763.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “João da Silveira Caldeira”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow João da Silveira Caldeira primary sources, João da Silveira Caldeira archive and João research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “João da Silveira Caldeira”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “João da Silveira Caldeira” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.