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U.Porto Memory

Teachers and students of the first Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto

Joaquim da Rocha Peixoto Magalhães

	1909-1999 High School Teacher and Writer

Born in the parish of Sé, Porto, on 3 May 1909, he studied in primary schools in Massarelos and S. Martinho de Sande, Marco de Canaveses, where part of his family was from. When he returned to Porto, he attended the French School in Porto and the Rodrigues de Freitas High School to complete his secondary education, and enrolled in the First Faculty of Arts of Porto in the academic year 1926-1927. On 16 July 1930, he graduated in Historical-Philosophical Sciences with a final mark of 16 out of 20, according to the records in the Rectorate of the University of Porto, whereas in his biographies he is said to have graduated in Romance Philology, a course which actually helped him consolidate his professional career.

He was placed as Interim Teacher at the Oliveira Martins Business School, in Porto, and applied for the pedagogic traineeship of the 2^nd Group in High School (Portuguese and French) at the Normal High School in Coimbra, in October 1931. The two following years were taken up with the traineeship but he also taught in private schools, for example in S. Luís School in Espinho and in Sernache do Bom Jardim Boarding School, until he sat the public exams at the Pedro Nunes Normal High School, in Lisbon, June 1933, which he passed with 17 out of 20 marks.

In the academic year 1933-1934, he was placed as Tenured Teacher of the 2^nd Group at the João de Deus High School, in Faro, and the following year he moved to Jaime Moniz High School, in Funchal, where he was finally admitted as an official high school teacher. Having returned to Faro in the academic year 1935-1936, he taught Portuguese and French at the João de Deus High School until his retirement in 1974, and at the same time was Vice-Rector and Rector between 1968 and 1974. Throughout his professional career, he was often nominated for official committees formed to discuss high school issues. He focused on extra-curricular activities, such as organizing plays and floral games, publishing the school newspaper and giving conferences and lectures on various topics.

As a citizen, his civic behaviour was exemplary and strong, tallying with his Republican beliefs, both as a founder and in carrying out various management duties in cultural organizations and social relief services: Círculo Cultural do Algarve, Aliança Francesa de Faro, Misericórdia de Faro, Conservatório Regional do Algarve, among others. In 1991, in a heartfelt tribute, his name was given to Escola C+S n.º 2 in Faro. He died in Faro on 16 October 1999.

With great vitality in the field of languages and literature throughout his life, he encouraged writers from the Algarve such as Lídia Jorge, Pedro Jorge, Teresa Rita Lopes and José Maria Fonseca Domingos. He was most famous for his friendship with poet António Aleixo, for whom he compiled the verses for the first book, "Quando Começo a Cantar" [When I begin to Sing](1943), and managed to persuade him to write down all his work in copy-books, which earned him the reputation of a poet in Portugal after they were published and disseminated. António Aleixo was grateful for the valuable help of Professor Joaquim Peixoto Magalhães in all this process and dedicated a stanza to his patron:

        «Não há nenhum milionário
          Que seja feliz como eu,
          Tenho como secretário
          Um professor do Liceu.»

[Free translation: There is no millionaire / As fortunate as I am / To have as secretary / A high school teacher]
(Universidade Digital / Gestão de Informação, 2008)