Joaquim Maria Machado De Assis (1839–1908) was born and lived his whole life in Rio de Janeiro. The son of poor parents, and mulatto, he worked his way up to a successful career as a civil servant and writer. He was revered (though not understood) in his lifetime, and was unanimously elected President of the Brazilian Academy of Letters when it was founded in 1896. He is still universally regarded as the greatest Brazilian writer.