José Maria da Silva Paranhos, the Viscount of Rio Branco (16 March 1819 – 1 November 1880) was a politician, monarchist, diplomat, teacher and journalist of the Empire of Brazil (1822–1889). Rio Branco was born in Salvador, in what was then the Captaincy of Bahia, to a wealthy family, but most of the fortune was lost after his parents' deaths early in his childhood.