Hercílio Luz
Hercílio Pedro da Luz, born on May 29, 1860 in Desterro (now Florianópolis), was a Brazilian engineer and politician. During his life he participated in several historical events in the state, such as the change of name from Desterro to Florianópolis and the planning and beginning of works on the Hercílio Luz Bridge.
He was president (a name equivalent to governor before 1930) of Santa Catarina for three terms: 1894-1898, 1918-1922 and 1922-1924. He took office as the first president of the state elected by direct vote, taking office for the first time on September 28, 1894, with Polidoro Olavo de São Tiago as vice-president. Three days after his inauguration, he sanctioned a project approved by the Legislature that changed the name of Desterro to Florianópolis (on October 1, 1894), in honor of Floriano Peixoto. Between 1920 and 1922, he signed the construction contract for the suspension bridge that would connect Santa Catarina Island to the mainland to consolidate Florianópolis as the capital of Santa Catarina. At that time, the other cities in the state considered the island too distant to be the administrative and political center of the state and, as a result, there was a movement calling for the capital to be moved to Lages. Construction of the bridge began in 1922. He died before the end of his term, on October 20, 1924, and did not attend the inauguration of the bridge, which would only take place in May 1926. Until his death, it was called the Independence Bridge , changing its name to Ponte Hercílio Luz in honor of its creator.
