Isaac Henrique Sequeira (1738-1816) was a Portuguese Sephardic Jewish doctor.

Early life

Sequeira was born in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, and educated at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

and

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

Career

Sequeira served as physician extraordinary to the Portuguese Embassy at the

Court of St James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

in London, and honorary physician extraordinary to the Portuguese prince regent. He was a licentiate of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

(LCP) and practised medicine in Mark Lane. Sequeira was painted in about 1775 by

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

, one of his patients, and that oil painting now hangs in Madrid's

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

Personal life

Sequeira married Esther d'Aguilar (1739-1791), the daughter of Baron Diego Pereira d'Aguilar. In ''Jews and Medicine: An Epic Saga'', Frank Heynick describes him as "wealthy and pompous". On 21 April 1814, his daughter Lydia died. His descendants include Jane Sequeira, a British doctor married to the financier

Jonathan Ruffer Jonathan Ruffer DL (born 17 August 1951) is a British City investor, art collector and philanthropist. Early life Jonathan Ruffer was born on 17 August 1951 in London, England, to Major John Edward Maurice Ruffer (1912-2010) and Dorothy ("Dodo ...

, who collects Spanish old masters and Gainsborough paintings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sequeira, Isaac Henrique 1738 births 1816 deaths 18th-century Jewish physicians of Portugal European Sephardi Jews