It is with great regret that we announce the news of the passing of Prof. Luís Espinha da Silveira this Sunday.

Prof. Luís Espinha da Silveira was a professor in the History Department at NOVA FCSH from its early days. Besides having coordinated that Department, he was also Pro-Rector of NOVA University Lisbon and Deputy Director of FCSH.

Furthermore, he was one of the co-founders of the IHC, where he was an integrated researcher. He was responsible for the research group “Territories & Societies”, created in 2003, and later transformed, under his leadership, into “History, Territory, and Environment”.

With a significant work in the field of Social History, he was one of the main drivers of studies on the 19th century in Portugal from a comparative perspective, contributing significantly to studies on State, territory and population. He was also a pioneer in bringing together the disciplines of History, Geographic Information Systems and Informatics. Together with other colleagues, he was also one of the most enthusiastic creators of NOVA FCSH’s Information and Documentation Sciences (CID) course.

He also stood out as an advisor for dozens of master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral scholarship students, having always stood out for his academic, scientific, and personal qualities.

He has always maintained a posture that was both demanding and constructive, striving to improve these institutions, to which he dedicated his professional life.

More recently, he had a leading role as a member of the organizing committee of the International Colloquium of the 1820 Bicentennial of the Revolution and the enthusiasm with which he directed the organization of a cycle of activities aimed at marking the double centenary of the implantation of liberalism in Portugal.

Its early disappearance leaves the Portuguese University and the IHC substantially poorer. To the family, we express our recognition, our friendship and our support.

In the not too distant future, IHC will pay a due scientific and academic tribute to Prof. Luís Espinha da Silveira

The IHC Board of Directors