Affonso Gil “Ferreira Mendes” Mendes Ferreira papers

Affonso Gil Mendes Ferreira was born in Portugal, and immigrated to Taunton, Massachusetts in 1920. He was known to his listeners in Rhode Island and Massachusetts as “Ferreira Mendes,” and first aired his radio program, “A Voz de Portugal” (Voice of Portugal) on WNBH on July 23, 1933 (the last program aired on WPEP on November 11, 1990. He also founded the first daily Portuguese radio station in United States, which operated from 1952 to 1967, in Providence, Rhode Island. Over the years, he solicited more than $500,000 in charitable donations from his listeners for various humanitarian causes. He also biannually published O Heraldo Portugues, a Portuguese newspaper, from 1925-1976. On June 12, 1983 the Portuguese government awarded him the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator, the highest award presented to a civilian, for his pioneer work in the field of broadcasting and journalism. Mr. Ferreira was married to Maria Rosa dos Santos on May 29, 1929. They had three daughters, Otilia, and Justina. He died in 1992.