Armando Cortesão

Armando Cortesão worked as an agronomic engineer, a colonial administrator, and a historian of Portuguese cartography. Cortesão graduated from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia in 1913, as an agronomist, before becoming the head of the Department of Agriculture of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1916 to 1920. During this time, he co-authored a map of the area, with his cartography being used on further studies of ancient maps.

In 1919, Cortesão headed up the Ministry of Colonies, spending most of his time in West Africa, where he wrote two books. He worked at the General Agency for the Colonies until 1931, until he was no longer in favour with the Portuguese government under António de Oliveira Salazar. This resulted in Cortesão fleeing the country (through a spectacular escape, swimming across the river Minho, to Spain, after knocking down the border official), living in exile for many years in Spain, England, and France, where he worked for UNESCO. During his exile, Cortesão wrote a book about Portuguese cartography and cartographers of the 15th and 16th centuries, which was his best work. Cortesão returned to Portugal only in 1952, becoming a professor of Studies in Ancient Cartography at the University of Coimbra. From 1960 to 1962, he published a six-volume work of cartographic monuments of Portugal, which included multiple high-quality lithographs.

Cortesão was bestowed with multiple honours during his lifetime, including the Grand Officer of the Military Order of Christ (1930), the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (1961), and an Honoris Causa doctorate from the University of Coimbra (1961). In 1987, he was posthumously awarded with the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword.

Cortesão’s athletics career was a small footnote in his remarkable life, with him competing in the 400 and 800 metres at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. In the 400 metres, he finished in last place in his heat and did not qualify for the semi-finals. He fared marginally better in the 800 metres, where he finished second in his heat, but he did not get past the semi-finals. He was the Portuguese national champion in the 200 metres in 1913, and in the 800 metres from 1911-13, among other disciplines.

Personal Bests: 400 - unknown; 800 – 2:13.4 (1913).