Portuguese botanist, professor at the University of Coimbra and director of their botanic garden, Júlio Augusto Henriques revived and developed the field of science in his country, collecting extensively and writing methodical floras for several regions of Portugal. Beginning his studies in the city of Braga, Henriques started out as his father wished, on the path to becoming a lawyer and attended the college São Bento in Coimbra in 1854. The following year he enrolled onto a law course which he completed in 1859, but never content as a lawyer, he developed an interest in the sciences and began a second course, this time in philosophy, at the University of Coimbra.

Gaining a bachelor's degree and a doctorate (presenting his PhD thesis on the question 'Are species mutative?') he applied for the position of tutor in the Philosophy Faculty of the same university in 1866. Between 1866 and 1873 he occupied the position of secretary of the faculty and in 1869 began to teach there as a substitute lecturer in botany, agriculture, zoology, chemistry and mineralogy. Despite the scarcity of resources available to him and the relatively unpopular nature of the subject in Portugal at the time, Henriques was always most interested in the plant sciences and in 1873 he was named lecturer and head of botany, agriculture and the botanic garden. In this role he set about reforming the department as funds became available in this area for the first time and used model institutions in Europe as his inspiration. Passionate about teaching he developed laboratory resources and fieldwork opportunities for his students and also separated out the botanical specimens and books in the museum of natural history to create a herbarium and library. Acquiring the vast herbarium of the German collector Moritz Willkomm, a Portuguese flora enthusiast, Coimbra became a base for studying the country's plant life. He also revitalised the garden, improving both its facilities and its collaboration with foreign organisations making exchange of plants and seeds possible.

Founding the Sociedade Broteriana in 1880 Henriques paid homage to Félix Avelar Brotero, seminal botanist in Portugal and founder of the botanic garden, and used this botanical society to gather together plant enthusiasts from around the country and disseminate their knowledge in the society's bulletin. A keen plant collector himself, this promoter of Portuguese botany travelled all over the country in search of specimens to develop the university's herbarium. Identifying, classifying and studying his and Willkomm's specimens. Henriques produced many publications on the fungi, lichens, algae and vascular plants (such as Amaryllidaceae, Poaceae and Plantaginaceae) of Portugal and produced a regional flora of the Mondego Basin.

Also interested in the flora of the Portuguese commonwealth in Africa, he collected in São Tomé and Príncipe as well, and is responsible for publishing the first flora of these islands. He was also interested in the development of agriculture on São Tomé and Príncipe and in Angola, publishing instructions on successful cultivation of certain crop species (particularly quinine for its protective qualities against malaria), and sending over thousands of species of potential agricultural interest. Henriques did not hold a large number of administrative positions, preferring instead to concentrate on his teaching and running the gardens. In 1907 the University of Uppsala awarded him an honorary doctorate but, as a particularly humble man, he often refused other recognitions. Henriques was born in the parish of Arco de Balúhe and he married once, to Zulmira Angelina de Magalhães Lima, whom he outlived.

Sources:
J. Guimarães, " Henriques, Júlio Augusto, 1838-1928", Biblioteca Digital de Botânica:
http://bibdigital.bot.uc.pt/index.php?menu=4&language=eng&tabela=geral, accessed January 2010
R. T. Palian, 1849, "Júlio Henriques: Botânico e Mestre (esboço vigoráfico)", Portugaliae acta biologica, vol. Julio Henriques: V-XXXV.