José Simões Dias

José Simões Dias (1844 in Benfeita, Arganil – 3 March 1899 in Lisbon) was a Portuguese poet, short-story writer and literary critic, as well as politician and pedagogue.[1][2] His poetry is generally affiliated with the later Romantic tradition, sometimes termed Ultra-Romanticism, although some of his poems, popular in tone, can be seen to betray an affinity for the Realist aesthetics that was then beginning to blossom in Portuguese letters.[3]

José Simões Dias
José Simões Dias in O Occidente (1899)
Born	February 5, 1844 Benfeita, Portugal
Died	March 3, 1899 (aged 55) Lisbon, Portugal
Occupation	Writer

As a deputy to the National Assembly under the constitutional monarchy of Luís I,[1] he authored the bill that would transform the birthday of Camões (June 10) into Portugal Day, an important national holiday.

References

1. "Dr. José Simões Dias : Notas biographicas" (in Portuguese). O Occidente. 20 March 1899. pp. 0062, 0063. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
2. "José Simões Dias (Short biography)" (in Portuguese). Alfarrábio, University of Minho.
3. Mouzinho, António Ruivo (Introdução, coordenação e notas) (2004). A Circulatura do Quadrado – Alguns dos Mais Belos Sonetos de Poetas cuja Mátria É a Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Edições Unicepe – Cooperativa Livreira de Estudantes do Porto. pp. 21, 22. ISBN 972-99347-3-8.