NBorn in Rio de Janeiro in 1838, from a bourgeois family, André Rebouças went to his city's military school before obtaining his engineering degree in England.Back in Brazil, he was appointed lieutenant in the marine engineer corps during the war against Paraguay in 1864. He created an immersive system that could be launched underwater to reach enemy ships and explode as soon as possible. contact made. The system will be referred to as a "torpedo".
After the war, became rich by the sale of his patent, he will teach at the Polytechnic of Rio and become one of the leaders in the fight against slavery until the final abolition in 1888.