Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas, (February 24, 1888 – October 21, 1932) was an odontologist (dentist),

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

and a Major in the U.S. Army who discovered the

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

which causes

dental caries Tooth decay, also known as caries,The word 'caries' is a mass noun, and is not a plural of 'carie'.'' is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The resulting cavities may be a number of different colors, from yellow to black ...

.San Francisco Cosmetic Dentistry

Early years

Fernando Emilio Rodríguez Vargas was born in

Adjuntas, Puerto Rico Adjuntas () is a small mountainside town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the central midwestern portion of the island on the Cordillera Central, north of Yauco, Guayanilla, and Peñuelas; southeast of Utuado; east of Lares and Ya ...

to Luciano Rodriguez and Dolores Vargas. There he received both his primary education. Adjuntas did not have a high school until 1950, therefore he attended high school in the City of Ponce where the other students from Adjuntas went. After he graduated from high school, he applied and was accepted in the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

where he took paramedic courses and earned his teachers certificate."Fernando E. Rodiriguez, Major, Dental Corps, U.S. Army"; By: James B. Mann, DDS,MD, Washington DC, US Army Medical Museum, Page 33 He then went to work as a

United States Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

inspector and later as a Spanish translator for the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

. In 1910, Rodríguez Vargas applied and attended Georgetown University School of Dentistry, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

where he earned his DDS degree in 1913. From 1913 to 1915, Rodríguez Vargas had his private practice in Washington, D.C. In 1915, he joined the United States Indian Medical Services, and was assigned to

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

located in the southwest region of the United States. During this time he studied the mottled enamel situation which was affecting Native Americans.

Military service

On August 16, 1917, he joined the United States Army and on September 14, he was commissioned a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

. Rodríguez Vargas was assigned to the Army Dental Reserve Corps and attended a course at the Medical Officer's Training Camp at Camp Greenleaf,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

before being sent overseas. The U.S. Congress had already declared war on Germany when Rodríguez Vargas was sent to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In August 1919, he was reassigned to

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

and served in Camp Las Casas. During his service in Puerto Rico he met and married Maria Anita Padilla. Rodríguez Vargas, who promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on September 8, and his wife had a son which they named Roberto."Asuntos Historicos: Tributo Al Extinto Comandante Fernando E. Rodriguez"; by Dr. Jose Munoz Barait, Page 29

Scientific work

On February 18, 1921, Rodriguez Vargas was sent to Washington, D.C. and assigned to the Army Dental Corps where he continued his investigations in the field of

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the iden ...

. Rodríguez Vargas was there as an educator and investigator of the bacteriological aspects of dental diseases. His research led him to discover the

which causes

. According to his investigations, three types of the

Lactobacillus ''Lactobacillus'' is a genus of gram-positive, aerotolerant anaerobes or microaerophilic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria. Until 2020, the genus ''Lactobacillus'' comprised over 260 phylogenetically, ecologically, and metabolically div ...

species, during the process of fermentation, are the causes of cavities. In December 1922, he published an original and fundamental work on the specific

of dental caries. His findings were published in the December issue of the ''Military Dental Journal'' titled "The Specific Study of the Bacteriology of Dental Cavities". Rodríguez Vargas also developed the techniques and methods of analysis. On September 28, 1928, Rodriguez Vargas published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" his findings in the effectiveness of Iodine and other chemical agents as disinfectants of the

mucous membranes A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It is ...

of the mouth. Since then, other scientists have used the findings of his investigations as the basis in the study of the bacteriology of dental caries. Rodríguez Vargas earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, in 1924 where he was an Associate Professor of Bacteriology in the School of Dentistry. On September 14, 1929, he was promoted to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Later years

Rodríguez Vargas was a member of the District of Columbia Dental Society, the International Association of Dental Research and a fellow of the American College of Dentists. In 1925, he was assigned to the General Dispensary, U.S. Army in Boston, Massachusetts until August 1926, when he was reassigned to Holabird Quartermaster Depot,

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

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, which would turn out to be his last assignment.Arlington National Cemetery
/ref> Major Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas became ill with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

and was hospitalized at the

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in Washington, D.C., it served more ...

for treatment. On October 21, 1932, Rodríguez Vargas died of complications at the age of 44. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

in Section 6 Site 8429. He was survived by his widow and son.

Honors

On March 16, 1940, the American College of Dentists presented a plaque to the Army Medical Service Graduate School (now Walter Reed Army Institute of Research) in memory of Army dental officer Major Fernando E. Rodriguez for his pioneer research showing the relationship between the Lactobacillus acidophilus and dental caries. On August 31, 1944, the War Department of the United States issued General Order No. 71 which renamed the Army General Hospital of Fort Brooke located in the former Ballajá Barracks (in the grounds of the

Fort San Felipe del Morro Castillo San Felipe del Morro ( English: Promontory Castle of Saint Philip), most commonly known as ''El Morro'' (The Promontory), is a large fortress and citadel in the Old San Juan historic quarter of San Juan, the capital municipality of Pue ...

) in

Old San Juan Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the San Juan Islet, islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, ...

, the Rodriguez (161st) General Hospital, in honor of Major Rodriguez Vargas. On February 14, 1949, the Rodriguez General Hospital was closed as a part of the closing of Fort Brooke. The Outpatient Clinic located at

Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico United States Army Garrison Fort Buchanan, is a United States Army installation in Puerto Rico. It is located in the metropolitan area of the capital, San Juan. History Puerto Rico was part of the Spanish Empire from the time of Christopher Col ...

was renamed; the Rodriguez Army Health Clinic (RACH) and remains in part to this day. Rodríguez Vargas is the only Puerto Rican honored with a plaque and bust situated in front of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C. In the 1950s, the Puerto Rico College of Dental Surgeons honored Rodriguez Vargas with the establishment of the "Dr. Fernando E. Rodriguez Scientific Contest".

Military decoration

File:WW1VMedal.jpg, World War I Victory Medal

Notes

References

External links

* *
Puerto Rico College of Dental Surgeons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez Vargas, Fernando E. 1888 births 1932 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences alumni Georgetown University School of Dentistry alumni People from Adjuntas, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Army personnel Puerto Rican military doctors Puerto Rican military officers 20th-century Puerto Rican scientists United States Army officers