José María Esquerdo Zaragoza (2February 184230January 1912) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

, physician, and Republican politician. He was the leader of the Progressive Republican Party from 1895 until his death in 1912. He is noted as a pioneer in the introduction of modern

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, mood, emotion, and behavior. Initial psychiatric assessment of ...

treatments in Spain.

Biography

José María Esquerdo Zaragoza was born in

Villajoyosa Villajoyosa (), in Valencian: (), meaning "The Joyful Town", and officially / , is a coastal town and municipality in the south of the Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It is the historic and administrative capital of Mar ...

, Alicante on 2 February 1842. He was the son of farm workers. He completed his medical training at the San Carlos Hospital of Madrid, though it is unclear whether he began his education there or at the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ), shortened to UV, is a public research university in Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It is regarded as one of Spain's leading academic i ...

. After completing his studies, he relocated to

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipalit ...

. Following the 1868 Glorious Revolution, he became the chair of

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

and director of the clinic of mental diseases at the General Hospital of Madrid. In 1872, Esquerdo volunteered to treat those wounded during the

Third Carlist War The Third Carlist War (), which occurred from 1872 to 1876, was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier Second Carlist War, "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relative ...

. In May 1877, he founded a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

Carabanchel Carabanchel is a district of Madrid, Spain. It lies on the southern (right) bank of the Manzanares, spanning southward down to the M-40 ring road. The district is made up of the neighbourhoods of Abrantes, Comillas, Opañel, Puerta Bonita, S ...

. Esquerdo unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...

in the February 1891 general election, the first one since the restoration of

universal male 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 sl ...

in Spain. Splitting the vote with a fellow

Progressive Republican The Republican Party in the United States includes several factions, or wings. During the 19th century, Republican factions included the Half-Breeds, who supported civil service reform; the Radical Republicans, who advocated the immediate and t ...

, Esquerdo's bid was ultimately unsuccessful. However, he shortly after won a seat as a Madrid municipal councillor during the May

municipal election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...

, representing the district of Hospital. Esquerdo ran again as a candidate for Madrid to the Congress of Deputies as part of a joint Republican ticket named "Unión Republicana" at the 1893 general election. This time, he won the seat with a plurality of the vote. Following the death of

Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla (22 March 183313 June 1895) was a Spanish politician. He served as Prime Minister of Spain for a little over ten weeks, in the summer of 1871, and again for eight months, between June 1872 and February 1873. Biography Born ...

in 1895, Esquerdo became the leader of the Progressive Republican Party. His leadership in the party, however, was not accepted by those represented by , founder of (an important party newspaper). The party thus lost the newspaper's support and was forced to replace it with the newly-created ''El Progreso'' in 1897, edited by

Alejandro Lerroux Alejandro Lerroux García (4 March 1864, in La Rambla, Córdoba – 25 June 1949, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who was the leader of the Radical Republican Party. He served as Prime Minister three times from 1933 to 1935 and held sever ...

. Esquerdo vied as the Republican–Socialist Conjunction (CRS) candidate for Madrid at the 1910 general election and again earned a seat at the Congress of Deputies. He received 41,939 votes and ranked as the second-most voted candidate in the capital, after his fellow Republican

Benito Pérez Galdós Benito María de los Dolores Pérez Galdós (; 10 May 1843 – 4 January 1920) was a Spanish Spanish Realist literature, realist novelist. He was a leading literary figure in 19th-century Spain, and some scholars consider him second only to Mi ...

. He participated in the Central Committee of the CRS meetings, where he grew closer to the faction favoring collaboration with the government, which was represented by Melquíades Álvarez and Gumersindo de Azcárate. He died on 30 January 1930 in his Madrid home. The Progressive Republican Party was dissolved soon after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esquerdo, Jose Maria Madrid city councillors Spanish republicans Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Spanish Restoration Spanish psychiatrists