Eusebio Hernández Pérez (18 January 1853 – 23 November 1933) was a Cuban

eugenicist Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetics, genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human Phenotype, phenotypes by ...

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

, and mambí in the

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War (; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. On 10 October 1868, sugar mil ...

, Little War, and

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Litt ...

. He reached the rank of brigadier general in the Ejército Mambí and was professor at the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

. Sarduy Nápoles named him "The Father of Cuban Obstetrics". He and Domingo Ramos Delgado posited the idea of homiculture, which integrated into the eugenics movement with the two diverging in thought.

Struggle for Cuban independence

Early life, initial revolutions, and education

Hernández was born in

Colón, Cuba Colón is a municipality and city in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. The municipality has an area of and a population of about 68,021. The city proper, with a population of about 44,000, is the third-largest of its province. History The town was ...

on 18 January 1853 to Francisco Hernández and Rosario Pérez. On 10 February 1869, he participated in the led by Gabriel García Menocal, father of

Mario García Menocal Aurelio Mario Gabriel Francisco García Menocal y Deop (December 17, 1866 – September 7, 1941) was the 3rd President of Cuba, serving from 1913 to 1921. His term as president saw Cuba's participation in the Allies in World War I. Early li ...

, during the

. He was imprisoned and sentenced to death but escaped at his execution. Prior to his involvement, he was studying for his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree, then finishing at the Instituto de Segunda Enseñanza de La Habana in 1873. In 1874, he began studying medicine at the Central University of Madrid, which was also interrupted by his participation in the movement. During the Little War, he supported mambises in

Matanzas Province Matanzas () is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is also located in this province. Among Cuban provinces, ...

and Las Villas Province as well as promoted . He was the correspondent between rebels in

Oriente Province Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. The origins of Oriente lie in the 1607 di ...

and

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. In October 1880, he was in the

Colony of Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was Invasion of Jamaica (1655), captured by the The Protectorate, English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British Empire, British colon ...

with his friend,

Antonio Maceo Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales (June 14, 1845December 7, 1896) was a Cuban general and second-in-command of the Cuban Liberation Army, Cuban Army of Independence. Fellow Cubans gave Maceo the nickname "The Bronze Tit ...

. Hernández was his personal and family doctor, delivering his son, Antonio Maceo Marryat. The two kept close correspondence between 1880 and 1887. In 1881, he left for

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

and arrived in

Puerto Cortés Puerto Cortés, originally known as Puerto de Caballos, is a port city and municipality on the north Caribbean coast of Honduras, right on the Laguna de Alvarado, north of San Pedro Sula and east of Omoa, with a natural bay. The present city w ...

with

Carlos Roloff Karol Rolow-Miałowski or Carlos Roloff Mialofsky, better known simply as Carlos Roloff, (4 November 1842 – 17 May 1907) was a Polish-born Cuban general and liberation activist, who fought against Spain in the Ten Years' War and the Cuban War o ...

. He then worked at the and the

National Autonomous University of Honduras National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. His involvement in the Gómez-Maceo Plan, the 1884–1886 attempt to organize further revolution after the failure of the Little War, had him travel to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

to raise funds and recruit men. Lisandra Pérez suggests Hernández motivated

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; 28 January 1853 – 19 May 1895) was a Cuban nationalism, nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in ...

to attend a 1884 meeting in New York City. Hernández attended these meetings while acting as

Máximo Gómez Máximo Gómez y Báez (November 18, 1836 – June 17, 1905) was a general of Dominican origin in the Cuban Wars of Independence (1868-78 and 1895–98). He was known for his controversial Scorched earth tactics, which entailed dynamiting pa ...

's doctor. He went to Madrid, graduating from the Central University with his

medical license A medical license is an occupational license that permits a person to legally practice medicine. In most countries, a person must have a medical license bestowed either by a specified government-approved professional association or a government ...

, and after his marriage in 1888, settled in Paris. Until 1892, he studied

gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

and

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

under Adolphe Pinard. In this position, Hernández worked on a method for

breech birth A breech birth is when a baby is born bottom first instead of Cephalic presentation, head first, as is normal. Around 3–5% of pregnant women at term (37–40 weeks pregnant) have a breech baby. Due to their higher than average rate of possible ...

and treatments for placenta praevia. In 1891, he visited

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

to study. In 1893, he returned to Cuba and worked towards his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

at the

; he submitted his thesis, ''Nueva causa de rigidez anatómica del cuello uterino durante el parto'', in 1899, at which point he became

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

. From 1893 to 1895, he was head of gynaecology and obstetrics at the Practical School of Medicine of Havana.

Cuban War of Independence

He joined the physical fight again as a military doctor during the

under the command of

Calixto García Calixto García y Íñiguez (August 4, 1839 – December 11, 1898) was a Cuban general in three Cuban uprisings, part of the Cuban War for Independence: the Ten Years' War, the Little War, and the War of 1895, itself sometimes called the C ...

; during the conflict he was also connected to Antonio Maceo, Máximo Gómez, José Maceo, and José María Rodríguez Rodríguez. The ''Bermuda'' vessel transported him and 78 mambises to Maraví (near

Baracoa Baracoa, whose full original name is: ''Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa'' ("Our Lady of the Assumption of Baracoa"), is a municipality and city in Guantánamo Province near the eastern tip of Cuba. It was visited by Admiral Christopher ...

) on 24 March 1896. He later joined the

general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

of Gómez as lieutenant colonel, being promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

after his performance in the

Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The seco ...

, near

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 333,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by Sp ...

. On 21 August, he fought in the Attack on Loma del Hierro under García. Between 21 September and 3 October, he participated in the under Gómez. Between 17 and 28 October, he fought in the Capture of Guáimaro under García. The Government Council appointed him secretary of foreign affairs, but he resigned due to issues with President in Arms

Salvador Cisneros Betancourt Salvador Cisneros y Betancourt (February 10, 1828 – February 28, 1914) was a Cuban revolutionary and statesman, who was the only Cuban to become the president of the Republic of Cuba (1902–1959), Republic of Cuba twice. Early life Salvador C ...

. He rejoined the efforts of his previous generals, fighting in the Capture of Las Tunas from 28 to 30 August and

Guisa Guisa is a municipality and town in the Granma Province of Cuba. It is located south-east of Bayamo, the provincial capital. Demographics In 2022, the municipality of Guisa had a population of 44,566. With a total area of , it has a populati ...

in November. In January 1898, García sent him to the United States to recover his health as the rebel encampments were in harsh conditions. On 24 August, Hernández was promoted to brigadier general of health and made representative to the Assembly of Santa Cruz del Sur; while in New York City, he resigned the latter position in 1899 due to American occupation after the

1898 Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898, was signed by Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, and marked the end of the Spanish–American Wa ...

as an opponent of American intervention in Cuban affairs. He published a memoir of his experiences entitled El período revolucionario de 1879 a 1895 in 1914.

Later life

U.S. occupations and early republic

On 9 January 1899, he returned to Cuba to pay respects to the deceased García by the request of his son, Carlos García Vélez. He continued to combat annexionist calls and supported progressive causes. There was public outrage at the

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

grants drafted by the American administration in 1900, which only lent the right to men who owned at least $250 in assets and were literate. They were deemed as worse than those in the of 25 November 1897 that established

universal manhood suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the s ...

. Hernández was a member of the Cuban commission that collaborated with the administration on this policy, but agreed with the dissidents. Since 1899, he worked as a professor of obstetrics at the Clinic of the University of Havana. During the 1901 general election of the

Republic of Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, Hernández was a candidate for the Liberal ticket; he supported

universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized a ...

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

, and the

right to education The right to education has been recognized as a human rights, human right in a number of international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which recognizes a right to free education, free, pr ...

. Afterward he ran for the vice presidency along with Bartolomé Masó's bid. He did not support President

Tomás Estrada Palma Tomás Estrada Palma (; July 9, 1835 – November 4, 1908) was a Cuban politician, the president of the Republic of Cuba in Arms during the Ten Years' War, and the first President of Cuba, between May 20, 1902, and September 28, 1906. His colla ...

but also detested those in the 1906 August Revolution. In a 1907 speech during the

Provisional Government of Cuba The Provisional Government of Cuba ( Spanish: ''Gobierno Provisional de Cuba'') lasted from September 1906 to February 1909. This period was also referred to as the Second occupation of Cuba. When the government of Cuban President Tomás Est ...

's administration, he demanded sovereignty be restored and declared that since the beginning of the 19th century,

geopolitics Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of State (polity), states: ''de fac ...

had been consumed by

American imperialism U.S. imperialism or American imperialism is the expansion of political, economic, cultural, media, and military influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright mi ...

. During the 1908 Cuban general election, he was the Liberal candidate for vice president under

José Miguel Gómez José Miguel Gómez y Gómez (; 6 July 1858 – 13 June 1921) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was one of the leaders of the rebel forces in the Cuban War of Independence. He later served as President of Cuba from 1909 to 1913. Ea ...

but ceded the position to Alfredo Zayas.

''Homicultura'' and death

In 1911, with Domingo F. Ramos Delgado (1881–1961), another student of Pinard, he published ''Homicultura'' (). They posited an expansive

concept based on Pinard's puericulture; it outlined a national project for maternal and child health, which were seen as linked, and "took a

holistic Holism is the interdisciplinary idea that systems possess properties as wholes apart from the properties of their component parts. Julian Tudor Hart (2010''The Political Economy of Health Care''pp.106, 258 The aphorism "The whole is greater than t ...

view of view of influences on human development, linking 'human fitness to a nation’s capacity for peace, order, and prosperity.'" The proposal applied foreign policies such as German ', centers for women who recently gave birth; French ', distribution centers for pasteurized milk; French '' crèches'', and the French Roussel Law, which monitored wet nursing. Its intended immediate effect was to reduce

infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the infant's first birthday. The occurrence of infant mortality in a population can be described by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age ...

. They also published for general audiences in the journal ''Vida Nueva''. In 1913, the National Homiculture League was founded and included people such as Francisco Carrera y Jústiz and María Luisa Dolz. To spread the idea, Hernández taught a class on homiculture and preventative sexual health at the . Proposals in La Habana Province that stemmed from homiculture included prenuptial medical examinations, and legal protection for women, and campaigns for improved working conditions and child nutrition. Homiculture did not receive attention from the government until President

established the Children's Hygiene Service, which accepted Hernández and Ramos's proposals: inspections on wet nurses and milk and tubercular

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

s. The service did not live up to the expectations of the pair as it was limited to Havana and acted as a means of surveillance on women, schools, and daycares. Hernández's wife, Ángeles Mesa de Hernández, along with other Havana women formed the Ladies Committee for the Protection of Children in 1914; it served the poor children of working women as a daycare and source of nutritious food. However, the government did not provide financial support. Hernández consistently followed neo-Lamarckian eugenics but Ramos increasingly turned Mendelian towards the 1920s. Ramos established the Pan American Central Office of Eugenics and Homiculture which had its first international conference in 1927. 28 delegates, representing 16 countries, and other unofficial members attended; included were Mexican Rafael Santamarina Sola (1884–1966), Peruvian , and American Charles Davenport. Ramos, supported by Davenport, suggested a

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

code entailing the classification of non-white immigrants and indigenous people as inferior and promoted policies of

forced sterilization Compulsory sterilization, also known as forced or coerced sterilization, refers to any government-mandated program to involuntarily sterilize a specific group of people. Sterilization removes a person's capacity to reproduce, and is usually do ...

and

racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

, as done in the United States. The code was unpopular and the Argentine, Costa Rican, Mexican, and Peruvian delegates in particular contested. In addition to positing homiculture, Hernández modified the Tarnier foreceps and Farabeuf's

pelvimeter Pelvimetry is the measurement of the female human pelvis, pelvis. It can theoretically identify cephalo-pelvic disproportion, which is when the capacity of the pelvis is inadequate to allow the fetus to negotiate the birth canal. However, clinical ...

, and developed method for an open-air

symphysiotomy Symphysiotomy is a surgical procedure in which the cartilage of the pubic symphysis is divided to widen the pelvis allowing childbirth when there is a mechanical problem (obstructed labour). It is also known as pelviotomy and synchondrotomy. It h ...

. In 1923, he founded the with

Julio Antonio Mella Julio Antonio Mella McPartland (born Nicanor McPartland; 25 March 1903 – 10 January 1929) was a Cuban political activist, journalist, communist revolutionary, and one of the founders of the original Communist Party of Cuba. Mella studied law a ...

; his last public appearance was when Mella's ashes were spread. Hernández's son, Eusebio Adolfo Hernández, was a professor of

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

here. He also participated in the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

solidarity movement with his father. In 1926, he became a member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences and French Society of Obstetrics. That year, Hernández self-diagnosed

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

and went to Berlin for his successful

colostomy A colostomy is an opening (stoma) in the large intestine (colon), or the surgical procedure that creates one. The opening is formed by drawing the healthy end of the colon through an incision in the anterior abdominal wall and suturing it int ...

. On 23 November 1933, he died in Havana from

pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema (British English: oedema), also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive fluid accumulation in the tissue or air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. This leads to impaired gas exchange, most often leading to shortness ...

. He was veiled in the Cuban Academy of Sciences rather than the due to pressure from President Ramón Grau. He was buried in

Colon Cemetery, Havana El Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón (English: the Christopher Columbus Cemetery), also called La Necrópolis de Cristóbal Colón, was founded in 1876 in the Vedado neighbourhood of Havana, Cuba, to replace the Espada Cemetery in the Barrio de S ...

and was awarded the Grand Cross of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and the Order of the . On 18 January 2016, his remains were moved to the veterans' area of the cemetery in a ceremony headed by

José Ramón Machado Ventura José Ramón Machado Ventura (born 26 October 1930) is a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the First Vice President of the Council of State of Cuba from 2008 to 2013. With the election of Raúl Castro as President of Cuba on 24 February ...

, , Roberto Morales Ojeda, and Eusebio Leal.

Works

Source:

Monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
s and articles

*''Estudio clínico del fórceps en el estrecho inferior'' (1891) *''Progresos de la Obstetricia contemporánea en Francia. Enseñanzas del profesor A. Pinard'' (1891) *''La sinfisiotomía. Sigault (1763), Baudelocque (1776), Pinard (1891)'' (1892) *''Tratamiento del cáncer del útero grávido'' (1893) *''Diagnóstico del embarazo vesicular'' (1895) *''El parto consciente sin dolor'' (1911) *''Cirugía obstétrica de las estrecheces pélvicas'' (1917) *''La sinfisiotomía en el tratamiento curativo de la insuficiencia pelviana'' (1924)

Published books

*''Homicultura'' (1911) *' (1914) *''Historia crítica de las pelviotomías. Estado actual, según la práctica del autor'' (1922) *''Dos conferencias históricas'' (1935)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez Perez, Eusebio 1853 births 1933 deaths People from Colón, Cuba Deaths from pulmonary edema People of the Ten Years' War People of the Little War People of the Cuban War of Independence Cuban soldiers Cuban activists Obstetricians Gynaecologists Military doctors Cuban communists 19th-century Cuban military personnel Liberal Party of Cuba politicians Complutense University of Madrid alumni University of Havana alumni Academic staff of University of Havana Academic staff of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras 20th-century Cuban politicians 19th-century physicians Cuban physicians Eugenicists Hispanic eugenics