Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Passenger Lists 1909-1952
View of Rio de Janeiro. Hamburg-American Line, Summer 1913 Edition, p. 95.GGA Image ID # 1d1ee85e84
Passenger Lists available from the GG Archives from the Port of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Organized by Date of Departure, Steamship Line, Steamship or Ocean Liner, Class of Passengers, Route, and the Ship's Captain.
Rio de Janeiro is on the far western part of a strip of Brazil's Atlantic coast, close to the Tropic of Capricorn, where the shoreline is oriented east–west.
Facing largely south, the city was founded on an inlet of this stretch of the coast, Guanabara Bay, and its entrance is marked by a point of land called Sugar Loaf—a "calling card" of the city.
1909-09-20 SS Koning Wilhelm II Passenger List
- Steamship Line: Hamburg Amerika Linie / Hamburg American Line (HAPAG)
- Class of Passengers: First Class
- Date of Departure: 20 September 1909
- Route: Boulogne-sur-Mer to Rio de Janeiro and La Plata via Southampton, Vigo, and Lisbon
- Commander: Captain P. Wiehr
1914-07-09 SS Vandyck Passenger List
- Steamship Line: Lamport & Holt Line
- Class of Passengers: First Class
- Date of Departure: 9 July 1914
- Route: Buenos Aires to New York via Montevideo, Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia (Salvador), Trinidad (Port of Spain), and Barbados (Bridgetown)
- Commander: Captain A. Codogan.
1935-06-01 SS Asturias Passenger List
- Steamship Line: Royal Mail Lines
- Class of Passengers: First and Second Saloon
- Date of Departure: circa 1 June 1935 (Note 1)
- Route: Southampton to Buenos Aires via London (Tilbury), Cherbourg, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Spain (Coruña Galicia [A Coruña], Las Palmas, Vigo), Portugal (Leixöes, Lisbon), Madeira, St. Vincent, Cape Verde Island, Brazil (Bahia, Pernambuco [Recife], Rio de Janeiro, Santos, São Paulo), Montevideo, Uruguay
- Commander: Captain A. Purvis
- Note 1: Passenger List did not provide departure date from Southampton - Only the Arrival date (18 June 1935) for Buenos Aires Argentina
1952-03-30 SS Conte Grande Passenger List
- Steamship Line: Italia Line
- Class of Passengers: First Class
- Date of Departure: 30 March 1952
- Route: Genoa to Buenos Aires via Villefranche, Barcelona, Dakar, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, and Montevideo
- Commander: Captain Pietro Passano.
View of Rio de Janeiro from the roadstead circa 1892. Photo by Albert. (Norddeutscher Lloyd Geschichte und Handbuch, 1892) | GGA Image ID # 2282ab87b5
⚠️ About Accuracy in Historical Records Research Tip
Context. The GG Archives presents passenger lists as faithfully as possible to the original documents. While OCR is generally accurate, portions of these collections—especially image captions and some transcriptions—are typed by hand and may include typographical or spelling variations. The original manifests themselves also contained clerical inconsistencies (names recorded phonetically, mid-voyage corrections, etc.).
What this means for your research:
- Search variant spellings of names (e.g., “Schmidt/Schmitt/Smith,” “Giuseppe/Joseph”).
- Cross-reference with immigration cards, passport applications, naturalization files, city directories, and newspapers.
- Treat manifests as primary sources with historical quirks—use them alongside corroborating records.
- For place names, consider historical borders and language variants (e.g., Danzig/Gdańsk, Trieste/Trst).
How to cite. When quoting a name from a manifest, consider adding [sic] for obvious misspellings and include a note such as “spelling as printed in original passenger list.”
Need help? If you spot a likely transcription error in captions, feel free to contact us with the page URL and a brief note—we love community input. 🙏
Curator’s Note
For over 25 years, I've been dedicated to a unique mission: tracking down, curating, preserving, scanning, and transcribing historical materials. These materials, carefully researched, organized, and enriched with context, live on here at the GG Archives. Each passenger list isn't just posted — it's a testament to our commitment to helping you see the people and stories behind the names.
It hasn't always been easy. In the early years, I wasn't sure the site would survive, and I often paid the hosting bills out of my own pocket. But I never built this site for the money — I built it because I love history and believe it's worth preserving. It's a labor of love that I've dedicated myself to, and I'm committed to keeping it going.
If you've found something here that helped your research, sparked a family story, or just made you smile, I'd love to hear about it. Your experiences and stories are the real reward for me. And if you'd like to help keep this labor of love going, there's a "Contribute to the Website" link tucked away on our About page.
📜 History is worth keeping. Thanks for visiting and keeping it alive with me.
