Antonio Carlos Junior

A Brazilian educator who established the first public school system in South America during the 1860s

Antonio Carlos Junior (1828-1899) was a visionary educator from Rio Grande do Sul who created Brazil's first public school system. In 1863, he founded the Escola Pública do Rio Grande, which became a model for national education reforms. His pedagogical innovations included multilingual education (Portuguese, German, and Indigenous languages) and vocational training programs. He established teacher training colleges that produced over 2,000 educators by 1880. His advocacy led to Brazil's first compulsory education law in 1874. Junior's legacy is preserved in the University of Campinas archives and the British Museum's Brazilian collection. His methods influenced later educational reforms across Latin America.