Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, known as Lampião, was born in the city of Serra Talhada, Pernambuco, on July 7, 1897. He was the third child in a family of seven siblings and could read and write. He helped on his father’s small farm taking care of the animals.
The cangaço attracted him in 1915 after his family was accused of stealing some animals from the farm of their neighbors, the Saturnino family, linked to the oligarchy. After 
some time, the Ferreira brothers killed some cattle from the neighbor and were pursued by the police. In the escape, his mother did not survive, and the police killed his father. Virgulino tasked one brother with taking care of the younger siblings and, along with the two older ones, began to roam the northeastern states, taking justice into their own hands.
The justice-seeking gang invaded farms, looted merchants, and distributed part of what they collected to the poorest. Wherever they went, they tortured and killed, leaving a trail of destruction and cruelty.
In 1923, the gang suffered its first ambush in the municipality of Nazaré do Pico, Pernambuco. The combat took place in the square, with the help of the local civilians. It was the beginning of the Nazaré Force, the most important pursuer of Lampião. In 1926, Lampião was called to fight in the 
Prestes Column and received the rank of captain.
Two years later, in 1929, he arrived in the village of Malhado da Caiçara where he met Maria Gomes de Oliveira, who was 19 years old and lived with her parents after separating from her husband. Soon, Maria joined the cangaço and became the famous companion of Lampião, “Maria Bonita,” and the first woman to enter the cangaço. In 1932, Maria Expedita de Oliveira Ferreira Nunes, the couple’s daughter, was born.
During the years of cangaço, Lampião mocked the police, the government, and influential people. He managed to outsmart the police, whom he called monkeys, using various strategies. One of them was to have the gang wear their alpercatas (traditional sandals) backward to leave a trail in the opposite direction. He was both feared and loved.
Lampião wore clothing similar to military battalions and glasses that characterized him. His nickname is said to have originated from the color of his rifle barrel, which glowed after several shots, resembling a lamp.
In the early hours of July 28, 1938, in the Grota de Angico, in the village of Poço Redondo, Sergipe, Lampião, Maria Bonita, and his gang were killed in an attack commanded by Lieutenant João Bezerra. Their heads were decapitated and their mummified heads were displayed in Santana do Ipanema, Alagoas. They were later taken to the Nina Rodrigues Museum in Bahia until they were buried in 1968.
Lampião died in the Grota de Angico, in Poço Redondo, Sergipe, on July 28, 1938.
Source: www.ebiografias.com, by Dilva Frazão