Salvador José Zapata (1781–1854) was a Spanish Galician pharmacist and philanthropist. After his death, his estate created a series of schools, the Salvador José Zapata Schools, for underserved children and adults in Havana, Cuba.
Biography
Salvador José Zapata was born on December 24, 1781 in Santa María de Guisamo, Province of A Coruña, Galicia (now Spain).
He emigrated to Cuba at the beginning of the 19th century and started working as an assistant in a pharmacy in Havana.
Between 1808 and 1812, he studied in the Faculty of Pharmacy 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 ...
, and obtained the title of master of pharmacy, with which he was able to open his own establishment.
Over time he earned a small fortune and when he died in 1854, in his
will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
he left all his belongings to build schools in the city of Havana for poor and underserved children. This is how the Salvador José Zapata Schools (or Zapata Schools) began, and the first school was inaugurated in 1873. By 1876 classes were also given to adults.
Afro Cuban painter
Pastor Argudín Pedroso
Pastor Argudín Pedroso (1880 – 1968), also known as Pastor Argudín Y Pedroso, was an Afro–Cuban portrait and genre painter, and teacher. He was internationally exhibited and was awarded the Order of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes by the Repu ...
had attended one of these schools.
The painter Miguel Melero Rodriguez made a portrait of him in 1879.
He also has a street in Havana named after him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zapata, Salvador José
1781 births
1854 deaths
Cuban pharmacologists
Cuban philanthropists
People from A Coruña (comarca)
People from Havana
Spanish emigrants to Cuba
University of Havana alumni
19th-century pharmacists