Joseph James Forrester (1809-61) was born at Kingston-upon-Hull and in 1831 joined his uncles wine business. He became highly influential instigating a reform of the wine trade, writing books and in 1848 publishing this magnificent survey of the Douro River, the first ever undertaken. He was also winemaker, artist, early photographer and botanist. In gratitude of his work for the Portuguese wine industry King Ferdinand II granted Forrester the title of Baron in 1855. Forrester died in 1861 in a boating accident at the rapids at Cachão da Valeira when his boat overturned. He drowned largely due to a heavy money belt he was wearing. He was accompanied by D. Antonia Adelaide Ferreira who according to contemporary sources floated safely to shore due to the balloon skirts she was wearing. He had written himself “It is a fine stream of considerable breadth, but impetuous in its course and abounding in obstacles – shallows, rocks, falls, rapids – which render its navigation difficult and dangerous. Not a year passes in which many boats are not destroyed, much property injured, and lives lost …” His chart received much acclaim. Mayson, Hall & Oelgart (2006) ‘Joseph James Forrester and his Maps’.