Francisco de Assis Chateaubriand Bandeira de Melo (pronounced [fɾɐ̃ˈsisku dʒi aˈsis ʃɐtobɾiˈɐ̃ bɐ̃ˈdejɾɐ dʒi ˈmɛlu]), best known as Assis Chateaubriand and also nicknamed Chatô (October 4, 1892 – April 4, 1968), was a Brazilian lawyer, journalist, politician and diplomat. He was born in Umbuzeiro, state of Paraíba, in the Northeast of Brazil, on October 4, 1892, and died on April 4, 1968, in São Paulo. He was one of the most influential public figures in Brazil during the 1940s and the 1950s, becoming notable as a journalist, an entrepreneur, an arts patron as well as a politician. Chateaubriand was appointed Ambassador of Brazil to the United Kingdom, position he held from 1957 to 1961. He was also a lawyer and professor of law, writer and member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, occupying its 37th chair from 1954 until his death in 1968.