Martín Corchado (25 April 1839 – 2 April 1898) was a nineteenth-century Puerto Rican physician who excelled in charitable medical services as well as in the field of medical research. He owned the first microscope brought to

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, which he used to do research on

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

Early life

Martín R. Corchado y Juarbe was born on 25 April 1839 in

Isabela, Puerto Rico Isabela () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the north-western region of the island, north of San Sebastián; west of Quebradillas; and east of Aguadilla and Moca. It is named in honor of Isabella I of Castile. Isabela is s ...

.Lorenzo A. Balasquide. ''Medicos Notables del Antaño Ponceño.'' Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1984. Page 33 His parents were Juan Eugenio Corchado and Juana Eugenia Juarbe. He was the elder brother to Manuel Corchado y Juarbe. He moved to Ponce around 1874.

Schooling

Corchado y Juarbe studied medicine at the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in medicine. He then moved to Madrid where in 1880 received his doctoral degree in medicine at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loc ...

. Subsequently, Corchado then lived in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, where he studied ophthalmology. Corchado was one of the first Puerto Ricans to work under Louis Pasteur in his institute in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Career

After this, he returned to

to practice medicine, settling in Ponce, Covering the years 1885-1889, Corchado was the second medical director of Hospital Tricoche (after Rafael Pujals). He stood out for providing free medical services to the residents of Ponce and nearby towns.''Las fiestas populares de Ponce.''
amón Marín. Retrieved 2 December 2011 He provided medical services to the poor, those in prison, and acted as a forensic physician in courts of law.

Research

Corchado owned the first microscope brought to Puerto Rico.Lorenzo A. Balasquide. ''Médicos Notables del Antaño Ponceño.'' Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1984. Page 34 He researched and studied

and published his results in the publications of the time, including " El Vapor". Corchado has been recorded as being "one of the most eminent Puerto Rican medical researchers of the nineteenth century."

Political views

A believer in the political autonomy for Puerto Rico from Spain, Corchado was also president of the Puerto Rico Autonomist Party, and one of the signers of the ''Plan de Ponce'' with Roman Baldorioty de Castro, Antonio E. Molina, Guillermo Oppenheimer, Pedro Salazar, Luis Gautier, Lazaro Martinez, Marcial Morales, Rafael Pujals, Ramon Marin, Enrique Cabrera and Jose Ramon Abad.

Death

Corchado died in Ponce on 2 April 1898 from complications from a

cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

when, not wanting to take time off to attend to his own health, he continued providing medical care to the needy. He was 59 years old.

Honors and recognitions

In Ponce, there is a street in the Mariani sector of barrio Segundo of the

Ponce Historic Zone The Ponce Historic Zone (''La Zona Histórica de Ponce'') is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico, consisting of buildings and structures with architecture that date to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The zone go ...

area named after him. He is also recognized at Ponce's Park of Illustrious Ponce Citizens.''Medicine.''
TravelPonce. Retrieved 4 December 2012