Francisco Bhering
Francisco Bhering (1867-1924)
1924 Obituary [1]
FRANCISCO BHERING was born in the State of Minas Geraes, Brazil, on the 1st January, 1867, and adopted as his profession that of a civil engineer.
In 1895 he joined the staff of the Brazilian Government Telegraph Department. His promotion was rapid and he became chief of the Sao Paulo District in 1901. In the same year he was appointed Brazilian delegate to the International Telegraph Conference held in London. He served in a similar capacity at the International Wireless Conference of 1912, and, in fact, he may be described as the pioneer of wireless telegraphy in Brazil.
In 1916 he was appointed sub-director and in 1920 director of the technical department of the Brazilian Telegraphs, and in 1922 he became director general of the Telegraphs, a position which he held at the time of his death, which took place at Paris on the 13th April, 1924, when he was on a visit to Europe on account of his health. The early land line telegraph system of Brazil followed the coast line, and the wires suffered considerably from corrosion. Dr. Bhering's most important work was the diversion of these lines into the interior through virgin forests.
In addition to his other duties, he was requested by the Institute of Brazilian Engineers (of which he was a Fellow) to organize and complete a geographical map of Brazil to commemorate that country's centenary. He was one of the founders of the Engineering College at Sao Paulo, and was Professor of the Engineering College of the Rio de Janeiro University.
He was elected a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1913.
The Municipality of Rio de Janeiro, to honour and commemorate his services, has given his name to the street leading to the Arpoador Wireless Station.