José Leandro Montalvo Guenard (1885–1950) was a Puerto Rican

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

. He is known for his ''"Rectificaciones Históricas: El Descubrimiento de Boriquén"'', published by Editorial del Llano, in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

, in 1933.

Early years and schooling

Montalvo Guenard was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. After graduating from high school, he attended the Deichmann Institute where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 1907, and then studied medicine at the

University of Maryland, Baltimore The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1807, it is the second oldest college in Maryland and comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, me ...

graduating with a

Medical Degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

in 1911.

Professional life and inventor

From 1911 to 1914, he was the Public Health officer for the municipality of

Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico Santa Isabel () is a Santa Isabel barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Coamo, Puerto Rico, Coamo; east of Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, Juana Díaz; a ...

. From 1922 to 1933, he was Public Health Officer for the Municipality of Ponce. During 1934–35, he was a tisiologist at the now-defunct Ponce Hospital for Tuberculosis, and starting in 1935 he was Director of the Ponce Asylum for the Blind ( Hospital de Ciegos). In 1939, Dr. Montalvo Guenard invented an instrument that allowed eye surgeons to securely hold and readily manipulate the

eye lens The lens, or crystalline lens, is a transparent biconvex structure in most land vertebrate eyes. Relatively long, thin fiber cells make up the majority of the lens. These cells vary in architecture and are arranged in concentric layers. New laye ...

in operations of

cataracts A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or double vision, halos around ligh ...

. He was issued US Patent 2,224,575.

Archeologist, memberships and interests

From 1925 to 1935, Montalvo Guenard also acted as the municipal

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeol ...

for the city of Ponce. Due to the diversified nature of his interests, Montalvo held memberships in the

Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America, North America's oldest learned society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and ...

, the Puerto Rican Academy of History, and the Puerto Rico Medical Association. Montalvo Guenard's interest laid in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

, especially

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...

and

ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

, in Puerto Rican prehistory and

protohistory Protohistory is the period between prehistory and written history, during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures that have developed writing have noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in the ...

and in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

Death and legacy

He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, USA. He is recognized at Ponce's Park of Illustrious Ponce Citizens.''Tricentennial Park: History.''
TravelPonce. Retrieved 9 June 2012.si

Notes

References

External links

''Portrait of Montalvo Guenard holding a pre-Columbian animal head sculpture.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montalvo Guenard, J. L. 1885 births 1950 deaths Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) People from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 20th-century Puerto Rican historians Physicians from Ponce 20th-century Puerto Rican physicians Puerto Rican inventors University of Maryland, College Park alumni 20th-century American inventors Historians of Puerto Rico