Juan Santos Fernández (July 22, 1847 – August 6, 1922) was a Cuban ophthalmologist, hygienist, and writer who was an early contributor to the medical field of ophthalmology in Cuba.
Biography Early life and education Juan Santos Fernández y Hernández was born on July 22, 1847 in Unión de Reyes, Matanzas Province, Spanish Cuba. He was the son of Desiderio Fernández.
In 1870, after his initial year at the University of Havana, his parents removed him from medical studies and sent him to Madrid, Spain. There, he attended the Old Medicine School of San Carlos and joined the Anthropological Society of Madrid, established in 1869. Eventually, he received his doctorate from the Colegio de San Carlos of Madrid () in 1872.Tarragó, R. E. (2017). Understanding Cuba as a Nation: From European Settlement to Global Revolutionary Mission. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. His writings during this time included research on astigmatism.Transactions of the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. (1909). United States: American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology..
Ophthalmology career From 1872 to 1875, he trained in ophthalmologic surgery under Xavier Galezowski in Paris. Upon returning to Cuba in 1875, he began his practice at an eye disease clinic. He reportedly performed a successful eye operation on Military Governor Joaquín Jovellar's daughter in the mid-to-late 1870s.
Crónica Médico-Quirúrgica de La Habana While back in Havana, Dr. Juan Santos Fernández founded a monthly medical journal, Crónica Médico-Quirúrgica de La Habana (). Cuban Anthropologist Luis Montané Dardé served as a corresponding member of the newspaper's editorial board.
Cuban Academy of Sciences Juan Santos Fernández was admitted to Havana's Royal Academy of Medicine, Physics, and National Sciences () (now Cuban Academy of Sciences).Ophthalmic Record: A Monthly Review of the Progress of Ophthalmology. (1917). United States: Fox.Palmer, Steven. (2014). Shifting Sands of Cuban Science, 1870–1933. State of ambiguity: civic life and culture in Cuba's first republic. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/historypub/179 He was part of the Larrey Association, established in 1873. His 1875 research on eye diseases in Cuba was presented on May 14, 1876, at the Royal Academy of Medicine, Physics, and Natural Sciences.Santos Fernández, J. (1876). Consideraciones sobre las enfermedades de los ojos, observadas en la isla de Cuba durante el año de 1875: memoria .... Cuba: La Propaganda Literaria. In the same year, a portrait and biography of him were published by the editorial board of El Anfiteatro Anatómico Español.
Cuban Anthropological Society Santos Fernández founded the Anthropological Society of the Island of Cuba () on September 16, 1877, with the help of Dr. Luis Montané Dardé and Felipe Poey. The society focused on the Natural History of Man and related fields, inspired by the Anthropological Society of Madrid.Crónica médico-quirúrgica de La Habana. (1877). Cuba: Propaganda Literaria.
Laboratory of Antirabic Vaccination of Havana In Havana on Prado Street, he founded a bacteriological laboratory, known as the Laboratory of Antirabic Vaccination of Havana, in 1887, in connection with his medical journal, La Crónica Médico-Quirúrgica de La Habana. The lab treated hydrophobia.Report of the Surgeon-General, United States Army, to the Secretary of War. (1899). United States: (n.p.). He is recognized as the first to introduce the Pasteur treatment for rabies in America.Journal of the American Medical Association. (1922). United States: American Medical Association..
Upon being named an honorary fellow by the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in 1892, he shared his research titled Corneal Opacities in Fetal Eyes.Transactions of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for the Year .... (1893). United States: The Association.
International Medical Congress Santos Fernández was a member of the International Executive Committee at the first Pan-American Medical Congress in Washington, D.C., which took place in September 1893. Additionally, he served on the Spanish West Indies auxiliary committee.Transactions of the first Pan-American Medical Congress, Held in the City of Washington, D. C., U. S. A., September 5, 6, 7, and 8, A. D. 1893. (1895). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
In 1898, under the leadership of Santos Fernández, who was president of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, the institution formally lowered the Spanish flag following the Treaty of Paris. This gesture not only ended the academy's royal status but also symbolized the significant political changes occurring in Cuba as it moved toward independence.State of Ambiguity: Civic Life and Culture in Cuba's First Republic. (2014). United States: Duke University Press.
At the 1900 International Medical Congress in Paris, France, the ophthalmologist presented his paper Enfermedades de los ojos en los negros y mulatos ().
Serving as president of the International Sanitary Congress in February 1902, he welcomed delegates on February 17 at the Hotel Telégrafo in Havana and discussed recent developments in sanitary science.Public Health Reports. (1902). United States: The Service.. In March 1902, he made a formal request to Military Governor Leonard Wood on behalf of the academy, seeking necessary resources to address the tuberculosis crisis.Rodríguez, D. A. (2020). The Right to Live in Health: Medical Politics in Postindependence Havana. United States: University of North Carolina Press.
On January 2, 1903, he was appointed by President Tomás Estrada Palma as an honorary member of the Superior Sanitary Board of the Island of Cuba.Annual Report of the Supervising Surgeon General of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service of the United States. (1904). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office. Santos Fernández gave a speech at the International Medical Congress of Physicians, held in Madrid, in April 1903.Monthly Bulletin of the International Bureau of the American Republics, International Union of American Republics. (1903). United States: The Bureau.
Santos Fernández published an article titled Posterior Crystalline Opacities After The Operation of Cataract in August 1905.Journal of Eye, Ear and Throat Diseases. (1905). United States: (n.p.).
On June 13, 1908, he delivered a speech in Bolondrón, Matanzas, Cuba.Santos Fernández, J. (1908). Discurso pronunciado por el Dr. Juan Santos Fernández en Bolondrón el domingo 13 de junio de 1908. Cuba: Impr. Militar de Antonio Pérez. Recognized by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology in 1909, he presented his paper, Some Observations in Thirty-five Years of Service in Cuba Pertaining to Ophthalmology.
As the president of the Academy of Medical, Physical, and Natural Sciences of Havana, he served as the organization's delegate at the second Pan-American Scientific Congress in Washington, D.C., held on December 29, 1915.The Report of the Secretary General. (1917). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office. On January 7, 1916, his scientific paper titled Antirabic vaccination in Habana with statistics compared with those of other nations was presented to the conference.Anthropology .... (1917). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
In 1916, he was on the Board of directors of The Havana Athenaeum, a Scientific Literary and Art Society, serving as the second vice-president.Dollero, A. (1916). Cuban Culture. Cuba: Impr. "El Siglo XX" de A. Miranda.
Death Juan Santos y Fernández died in Havana, Cuba on August 6, 1922.American Journal of Ophthalmology. (1923). United States: Ophthalmic Publishing Company.
Honors On January 18, 1927, the President signed a decree in Havana to create an institute for the blind under the name of Juan Santos Fernández Institute.Bulletin of the Pan American Union. (1927). United States: The Union.
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