Hipólito Unanue

Hipólito Unanue (painting by José Gil de Castro )

José Hipólito Unanue y Pavón (born August 13, 1755 in Arica , Arica Province , Chile , † July 15, 1833 in Lima ) was a Peruvian botanist , physician , meteorologist , scientist , university professor and politician who was committed to the dissemination of modern medical and scientific methods as well as the establishment of scientific institutions.

As a politician, he was twice finance minister (Ministro de Hacienda) from 1821 to 1822 and 1824 to 1825, 1822 to 1823 President of the Constituent Congress (Presidente del Congreso Constituyente) , and twice interior and foreign minister (Ministro de Gobierno y Relaciones Exteriores) ) 1824 and 1825 and between 1825 and 1826 President of the Council of Ministers (Presidente del Consejo de Gobierno) .

Life

Studies, university lecturers and scientific work

Dona Mariana Belsunse y Salasar was a supporter of the work Unanues in Lima (painting by José Joaquín Bermejo )

Hipólito Unanue, son of Miguel Antonio Unanue y Montalivet and Manuela Pavón y Salgado de Araujo, attended the Seminario de San Jerónimo in Arequipa, founded in 1622 . In 1777 he began studying medicine and science at the Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Marcos , where he was assisted by Dona Mariana Belsunse y Salasar, widow of the two-time mayor of Lima, Agustín de Landaburu y Ribera. In 1784 he completed his medical studies with Gabriel Moreno and finally took over a professorship for anatomy at the Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Marcos in 1789 . In the following years he was heavily involved in the founding of independent academic institutions such as the Sociedad Académica de Amantes del País , which he established together with José Baquíjano y Carrillo de Córdoba , José de Arriz , Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza , Vicente Morales Duárez and others in Lima in 1790 founded. In addition, from 1791 to 1794 he was editor of the journal El Mercurio Peruano , which was published by this society and was instrumental in spreading the scientific ideas of this institution. With the support of the Viceroy of Peru Francisco Gil de Taboada y Lemos , he founded an anatomical lecture hall at the Hospital de San Andrés , which opened on November 21, 1792.

Unanue, who was editor of the Guía Política, Eclesiástica y Militar del Virreinato del Perú between 1793 and 1797 , opened clinical courses in 1794 to expand the knowledge of students, some of whom were mulattos . Between 1799 and 1805 he carried out extensive observations on the climate in Lima and, following the tradition of Hippocratic medicine , undertook extensive studies of climatic changes and their effects on humans, which he carried out in 1806 under the title Observaciones sobre el clima de Lima y su influencia en los seres organizados, published in especial el Hombre . On the basis of his evaluations, he established a relationship between the meteorological data and his clinical observations, which he sought to combine in modern and traditional medical concepts. Despite the numerous references to Isaac Newton and Herman Boerhaave , his book was largely shaped by archaic thoughts. Through his dogmatic attitude and refusal to recognize the importance of chemistry for medical science, and his insistence that only the climate had an influence on people, he shaped the attitudes of the doctors of the time who rejected the use of common cures for diseases.

On the other hand, Unanue tried to refute the view of Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon that the climate, environment, flora and fauna of the New World were inferior to those of the Old World . In his account of the refutation of Buffon, he referred to the treatise Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson , and thus supported the statements made there. He assumed that the number of animal and insect species in America was at least as high as in Europe, if not higher.

On November 29, 1807 Unanue was appointed by Viceroy José Fernando Abascal y Sousa to the general doctor (Protomédico General) after he had presented this a plan to build a new medical school. This should be attached to one of Lima's hospitals and teach the students anatomy, physiology , surgery and pharmacy . After the Real Colegio de Medicina de San Fernando was completed in 1811, ten professors began teaching, most of them former students of Unanues. The curriculum also included lectures in mathematics , psychology and experimental physics and were based on texts that were personally selected by him.

Minister and Prime Minister

Statue of Hipólito Unanue in front of the Medical Faculty of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos

Unanue was one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence of Peru (Declaración de Independencia del Perú) on July 15, 1821 and began his political career after the final independence from Spain on July 28, 1821. After President José de San Martín took office on July 28, 1821, he was appointed first Minister of Finance (Ministro de Hacienda) on August 3, 1821 and held this ministerial office until he was replaced by Dionisio Vizcarra on September 21, 1822 October 8, 1821 he was one of the founders of the order El Sol del Perú .

Nearly two months later he was on 20 December 1822 successor to Juan Antonio de Andueza President of the Constituent Congress (Presidente del Congreso Constituyente) and this function held for three months until 20 February 1823 after which he by Nicolas de Araníbar Fernández Cornejo replaced has been.

During the presidency of Simón Bolívar , Unanue took over the post of Interior and Foreign Minister (Ministro de Gobierno y Relaciones Exteriores) for the first time as successor to Juan de Berindoaga y Palomares on January 20, 1824 and held this position until his replacement by José Faustino Sánchez Carrión on January 5 , 1824 April 1824. As successor to José Faustino Sánchez Carrión, he was again Minister of Finance on October 28, 1824 and held this ministerial office until February 25, 1825, whereupon José María Pando succeeded him. He then succeeded José Faustino Sánchez Carrión again and took over the post of Interior and Foreign Minister for the second time on February 26, 1825. In these offices he was replaced on April 3, 1825 by Tomás de Heres .

Most recently Unanue replaced Simón Bolívar as Prime Minister (Presidente del Consejo de Gobierno) on April 10, 1825 and held this position until he was replaced by José de La Mar on January 5, 1826. In June 1826, he became Minister of Justice from Bolívar and church affairs (Ministro de Justicia y Negocios Eclesiásticos) appointed, but resigned from this office together with Bolívar on January 28, 1827. He then retired into private life and lived on his property, Casa Hacienda Arona in the province of Cañete , where his son José Unanue built the Palacio Unanue in 1840 .

The health institution Convenio Hipólito Unanue of the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in Ecuador , the Hipólito Unanue Prize of the National Academy of Medicine and the Order of Hipólito Unanue were named in his honor. From 1816 he was a corresponding member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences .

Publications

• Observaciones sobre el clima de Lima y su influencia en los seres organizados, en especial el Hombre , 1806

Web links

• Biography in Biografías y Vidas

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Peru: Foreign Ministers (rulers.org)
2. ↑ Peru: Foreign Ministers (rulers.org)