Bento Ribeiro

Bento Manuel Ribeiro Carneiro Monteiro was born on 20 September 1856 in Jaguarão, Rio Grande do Sul,^[a] to Lieutenant General Vitorino José Carneiro Monteiro, Baron of São Borja, and Benevuta Amália Ribeiro. Bento Ribeiro was a member of a prominent family of Brazilian military officers; his father had been awarded the Gold Military Medal, granted the title of Baron for his military merits, and is considered one of the most important cavalry officers in the Brazilian Army, while Bento Ribeiro's maternal grandfather, Bento Manuel Ribeiro, is regarded as a legendary military officer and rancher who, also for his military merits, was granted rights to large tracts of land in the region of Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul.^[2][1][3][4] Bento Ribeiro was also the brother of Vitorino Monteiro [pt].^[5]

Bento Ribeiro attained the rank of marshal on 7 January 1920, the highest rank in the Brazilian Army, and was awarded the Silver Military Medal on 25 May 1903.^[6]

On 14 November 1904, an attempted coup d'état was carried out by Senator Lauro Sodré [pt], Congressman Alfredo Varela [pt], and General Silvestre Rodrigues da Silva Travassos. At the time, Bento Ribeiro was commander of the 2nd Engineer Battalion and played a significant role in defending the government. For this, he received a commendation from the Minister of War and was appointed commander of Escola Preparatoria e de Tactica de Realengo, the military focal point of the coup, where he remained for two years without any enemies.^[7]

Bento Ribeiro's life is connected to the biography of communist revolutionary Luís Carlos Prestes. After Prestes's father died in 1908 and he moved with his family from Botafogo to Andaraí, he took the entrance examination for Colégio Militar [pt]. Despite passing the examination twice, he was unable to gain admission for two consecutive years due to the lack of "political" backing (pistolão). On his third attempt, his mother Leocádia sought the intervention of Bento Ribeiro, colleague of her late husband, who secured Prestes's admission in May 1909.^[8][9]

Bento Ribeiro was mayor of Rio de Janeiro, then the Federal District, from 15 November 1910 to 15 November 1914,^[b] appointed by President Hermes da Fonseca. He succeeded Serzedelo Correia [pt] and was succeeded by Rivadávia Correia [pt]. This was the only public office Bento Ribeiro held, and he became the first mayor to complete a full four-year term of office. Bento Ribeiro is considered to have consolidated the new role the then–capital of Brazil came to play following the major reforms of Pereira Passos and Sousa Aguiar [pt].^[10][4][1]

In education, Bento Ribeiro continued initiatives begun by Sousa Aguiar, such as the establishment of night schools, which were opened to women following a reform in 1911. Enrollment in these schools increased from 613 in 1910 to 6,422 in 1914, while total enrollment in public primary education grew from 34% to 41% of all school-age children, suggesting a real increase in the number of children with access to public education.^[11]

Grave of Bento Ribeiro, now in modern-day group 39

About 15 days before his death, Bento Ribeiro contracted influenza, which worsened and developed into pneumonia. He died of cardiac collapse on 28 August 1921 at 8:30 p.m. in his residence at 30 Correia Dutra Street. The following day, at 10:00 a.m. Ribeiro's remains were transferred from his residence to a church in Glória where a funeral Mass was celebrated with the body present. He was subsequently buried at São João Batista Cemetery^[3] in group 6 vault no. 2,386.^[5][4] Ribeiro was survived by his wife, one daughter, and two sons.^[5]

Bento Ribeiro was married to Isabel Machado Carneiro Monteiro,^[13] with whom he had three children: João Ribeiro Carneiro Monteiro, who was unmarried as of 1937;^[update] Major of Aviation Bento Ribeiro Carneiro Monteiro, who married Lavinia Schilling; and Maria Luísa Carneiro Monteiro, who married the military physician Aristarco Dantas, after whose death his widow entered a religious order and took religious vows.^[14] Isabel Machado died aged 94 on 25 July 1954 at her home, 310 Barão de Jaguaribe Street, and was buried in São João Batista Cemetery.^[13] Maria Luísa died aged 73 on 9 December 1956, leaving one son, José Bento Ribeiro Dantas, an important figure in the urban and administrative development of Búzios.^[15][16] João died aged 73 on 26 April 1958 without leaving any children.^[17] Bento, the son, died aged 71 on 23 August 1963, leaving six children.^[18]