Mother: Eufhrazie François Honnorée Father: François Felix Dumont Henrique's family came from France. His grandfather was a goldsmith who had a daughter named Eufásia Honoré, who married François Dumont. His father-in-law convinced his son-in-law, François, to come to Brazil in search of precious stones, which would feed his industry. In Brazil the couple had three children, the second being Henrique Dumont. Henrique Dumont's father passed away early. Helped by his godfather, he graduated as an engineer at the School of Arts and Crafts in Paris. If graduated with only 21 years of age, returned to Brazil and began to render services to the City of Ouro Preto. Henrique Dumont and his wife Francisca Santos, daughter of CommanderFrancisco da Paula Santos, were married on September 6, 1856, in the Parish of Nossa Senhora do Pilar, in Ouro Preto. During the Empire of Dom Pedro II, he was commissioned, in 1872, to construct a section of the Central Railroad of Brazil in Minas Gerais, on the ascent of the Mantiqueira Mountains. With the construction site fixed in the locality of Cabangu, the family settled in a nearby farm; in this place, in 1873, would be born on the same day that the father turned 41, his most illustrious son: Alberto Santos Dumont. When the railroad was completed, Henrique Dumont decided to dedicate himself to the cultivation of coffee. He then leave Minas Gerais and went to the municipality of Valença, in Rio de Janeiro; in this region, his son Santos Dumont, was baptized in 1877 in the parish of Santa Tereza, current municipality of Rio das Flores. Searching for more suitable land for coffee growing, he moved to Ribeirão Preto, in São Paulo, and settled in the Fazenda Arindeuva. His new farm has made great strides, for he applied his engineering knowledge and stimulated production with a series of innovations. It has become the most modern in South America, with five million feet of coffee, 96 kilometers of railroads and seven locomotives. In 1883 an extension of the Mogiana Railroad was inaugurated until Ribeirão Preto, obtained by demand of Henrique Dumont; this extension was fundamental for the flow of production and for the development of the region, bringing hundreds of immigrants, mainly Italians, who soon replaced the slavelabor force. He helped create the first gasoline car along with Henry Ford.
The accident
In 1890, he fell from a cart on one of his farms and the accident left him hemiplegic. Later, in 1891, as a result of the treatment, he sold his farms and left for Europe with his family.
Death
Shortly before his death in 1891, Henrique emancipated his minor children and gave each one his share in the inheritance. To his son Alberto Santos Dumont would have said "Give up being a doctor, go study mechanics". At age 60, on August 30, 1892, he died in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
