March 27

Afonso I of Portugal (Guimarães, 1109?, traditionally July 25 – Coimbra, 1185, December 6), more commonly known as Afonso Henriques, nicknamed the Conqueror (Port. o Conquistador), was the first King of Portugal, declaring his independence from León. Afonso I was the son of Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portugal and Teresa of León, the illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso VI of Castile and León. He was proclaimed King on July 26 1139, immediately after the Battle of Ourique, and died on December 6 1185 in Coimbra.

March 20

José de Almada Negreiros (São Tomé, São Tomé e Príncipe, April 7, 1893- Lisbon, July 15, 1970) was a Portuguese painter, poet and writer.

In 1913 he made his first individual exhibition and along with Fernando Pessoa and Mário de Sá-Carneiro publishes poems and texts in the artistic magazine Orpheu, that would introduce modern literature in Portugal. In the following years his artistic production will be wide and prolific; from easel paintings to murals, glass-windows, illustration, printmaking and scenography, from novels,playwrights to poems, essays and panfletary manifests, he became a key artist in Portuguese modern art, influenced by Cubism and, mainly, by Futurism. His role, during António de Oliveira Salazar´s authoritarian regime is however ambiguious, assuming both as an "aligned" artist (doing public mural paintings or propaganda posters) and a provocative critic of Portuguese society of the time. (continued...)

March 13

Ferdinand Magellan (Portuguese: Fernão de Magalhães; Spanish: Fernando or Hernando de Magallanes; Spring 1480–April 27, 1521) was a Portuguese maritime explorer who led the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. Magellan himself did not complete his final voyage; he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines. He did, however, die further west than the Spice Islands, which he had visited on earlier voyages, making him one of the first individuals to cross all the longitudes of the globe. He became the first person to lead an expedition sailing westward from Europe to Asia and to cross the Pacific Ocean.

March 6

José Afonso, full name José Manuel Cerqueira Afonso dos Santos, also known as Zeca Afonso or only "Zeca" (August 2, 1929 - February 23, 1987) was born in Aveiro, Portugal, son of José Nepomuceno Afonso, a judge, and Maria das Dores. Zeca is perhaps the most well-known popular singer and composer of the Portuguese history. He was also a famous left-wing activist with strong anti-fascist beliefs and action, with a huge role among the resistance movement against the regime of Oliveira Salazar that would triumph with the democratic Carnation Revolution. In the following revolutionary process, Zeca was one of the most active Portuguese musicians. All this would make him an important personality in 20th century Portuguese history. Years after his death, Zeca Afonso is still widely listened to, not only in Portugal, but also abroad.

February 28

José Gomes Ferreira (1900 – 1985) was a Portuguese writer with a vast work of neorealist influence. Gomes Ferreira was also a political activist that participated in the resistance against the dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar during the Estado Novo (New State) regime, becoming later a member of the Portuguese Communist Party. In the late 1970s he occupied the presidency of the Portuguese Writers Association.