José Vieira Couto de Magalhães (1 November 1837 - 14 September 1898) was a Brazilian politician, military officer, writer and folklorist.

He studied mathematics at the Military Academy of Rio de Janeiro and attended the course in Field Artillery in London.

Couto de Magalhães knew the interior of Brazil and was the initiator of steam navigation in the Brazilian Highlands.

Arrested and sent to Rio de Janeiro, Magalhães was released in recognition of his huge culture and actions of society for clearing the Brazilian backlands.

He founded in 1885 the first astronomical observatory in the state of São Paulo, at his farm in Great Bridge on the River Tietê.