of the Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute (1907-1912) and wrote two books. His son, Paulo do Rio Branco, was a prominent French-born Brazilian rugby player. Popularity In 1909, Rio Branco was encouraged to run for the Presidency, but he declined, as he could not envisage consensus around his name. He was very popular, however, among the people; at the time of his death, to the point of paralysing Carnival – another unparalleled feat in Brazilian history – on the day he died (February 10), when official mourning was declared. The first recorded instance of an official moment of silence dedicated to a person's death took place in Portugal on February 13, 1912. The Portuguese Senate dedicated 10 minutes of silence to the baron. This moment of silence was registered in the Senate's records of that day. As a writer he wrote many books, dealing mostly with the history of Brazil, and was awarded prizes and occupied the 34th seat of the Brazilian Academy of Literature. Brazil's diplomacy academy (Instituto Rio Branco) is named after the Baron. Rio Branco is portrayed on the fifty centavos coin of the Brazilian real currency. Honours : Knight of the Order of the Southern Cross Knight of the Order of the Rose : Knight of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (House of Romanov) See also Rio Branco, Acre, capital city of the Brazilian state of Acre, named after the diplomat. Río Branco, Uruguay, a city named after the Brazilian diplomat. Paranhos, Mato Grosso do Sul, a border city also named after the Brazilian diplomat. Ordre du Rio Branco (Brésil). Further reading LINS, Álvaro. Rio Branco (O Barão do Rio Branco): biografia pessoal e história política. São Paulo: Editora Alfa-Omega, 1996. 516p. Preuss, Ori. Bridging the Island: Brazilians' Views of Spanish America and Themselves. Madrid: Iberoamericana, 2011. References External links Relatório apresentado ao Presidente da República dos Estados Unidos do Brasil pelo Ministro de Estado das Relações Exteriores, compreendendo o período decorrido de 28 de maio de 1902 a 31 de agosto de 1903 Brazilian ephemerides, in Portuguese, by the Baron of Rio Branco Biographies by the Baron of Rio Branco of the Brazilian Empire 1845 births 1912 deaths Brazilian diplomats Ambassadors of Brazil to Germany Brazilian monarchists Brazilian nobility 19th-century Brazilian people Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Conservative Party (Brazil) politicians Foreign ministers of Brazil Members of the Senate of the Empire of