The son of farmer Antonio Gomes Cândido and Anna Rosa Umbelina de Jesus Gomes Cândido, Francisco de Paula Cândido was born on April 2, 1805, at the Macuco farm in Piranga, district of Mariana, in the State of Minas Gerais. He was the son-in-law of Manoel Ignacio de Andrade Souto Maior Pinto Coelho, also known as the Marquês de Itanhaém (Marquis of Itanhaém), an Imperial Senator who succeeded José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva as Emperor Dom Pedro II’s tutor.
At the age of eight, he joined a theological seminar in the town of Mariana to serve under the Church. However, he did not enjoy being secluded inside an institution and thus decided to leave. In 1821, he joined the armed forces and studied for three years at the Royal Military Academy in Rio de Janeiro. Four years later, in 1825, the young man headed to Europe and enrolled at the Paris School of Medicine (University of Sorbonne). From 1825 to 1832, he attended institutes and higher education centers of education in Paris, France, successfully concluding a Bachelor’s in Arts in 1829, and shortly after, another bachelor’s degree, this time in Medical Sciences.
Dr. Paula Cândido volunteered to work as a doctor at the French government’s “sanitary legion,” assembled to help handle the cholera epidemic; his remarkable efforts were acknowledged with the Grand Gold Medal. On August 31, 1832, he concluded his medical studies at the Paris School of Medicine, after successfully defending a thesis named “Sur l’électricité animale” (“On Animal Electricity”), which he additionally submitted to the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine. There, he passed a public examination and secured a position in the Department of Medical Physics in March 1833, a job he kept for 30 years.
Appointed as a Full Member of Rio de Janeiro Medical Society upon presenting a dissertation titled “Observations on Typhoid Fever,” Dr. Paula Cândido was officially sworn in at a session held on January 30, 1833. He would later be reelected to serve as President for three terms: in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 1834 at the Rio de Janeiro Medical Society; and during tenures from 1840 to 1842, and from 1852 to 1855 at the Imperial Academy of Medicine, now the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM), whose Chair Number 20 permanently bears his name in recognition of his outstanding contributions to medicine.
Furthermore, Dr. Paula Cândido was voted to represent the Province of Minas Gerais as a Congressman in 1838, a role he would fulfill during the 1838 to 1845, and 1849 to 1856 terms.
On August 14, 1840, the physician and scholar was appointed as a Permanent Physician of the Royal Imperial Chamber, in addition to serving as an Advisor to the Brazilian Empire. Moreover, he was bestowed with the Imperial Order of Christ and the Imperial Order of the Rose in the rank of Grand Dignitary by Emperor Dom Pedro II and decorated with the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic by the Queen of Spain.
Outside of the realm of medicine, Dr. Paula Cândido penned the Annals of Brazilian Medicine and ran the Diário da Saúde health journal, as well as literary newspaper Brasil Ilustrado, which were all popular publications within the Royal Court.
Francisco de Paula Cândido holds the privilege of being the first-ever President of the Junta Central de Higiene Pública (Public Hygiene Central Board), established on September 14, 1850, through decree number 598, and whose aim was to preserve public health and sanitation in Brazilian cities, oversee medical treatments, and inspect public health conditions. The institution, which he presided over until 1864, served as an advisory board to the Imperial Government on public health policies.
The physician gained nationwide acclaim during his time there, particularly with regard to efforts he led to tackle the cholera epidemic and to control endemic yellow fever outbreaks in several parts of the country. Throughout his entire career, Dr. Paula Cândido always endeavored to improve and spread awareness of the importance of pharmacies for the country. In addition, he supported the country’s March 1851-established Pharmaceutical Society, ran by Ezequiel Corrêa dos Santos. The latter, alongside other renowned pharmacists in the likes of Manoel Francisco Peixoto and Frenchmen Jean Marie Soullié and João Francisco Blanc, had already been working at the Pharmacy Division of the Imperial Academy of Medicine.
Other distinctions awarded to Dr. Paula Cândido include membership to the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute (IHGB) and the titles of Honorary Member of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, Member of the Paris-based L’Académie Diplomatique, Member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, and Patron of Chair Number 16 of the State of Minas Gerais Academy of Letters.
Dr. Francisco de Paula Cândido passed away on April 5, 1864, at the age of 58. He is buried at the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris, France.
As a posthumous tribute to the acclaimed sanitarian, the district of Paula Cândido in the State of Minas Gerais was named after him.
Acad. Francisco Sampaio
Número acadêmico: 31
Cadeira: 20
Cadeira homenageado: 20
Membro: Titular
Secção: Medicina
Eleição: 30/01/1833
Posse: 30/01/1833
Sob a presidência: Octaviano Maria da Rosa
Falecimento: 05/04/1864
Número acadêmico: 31
Cadeira: 20
Cadeira homenageado: 20
Membro: Titular
Secção: Medicina
Eleição: 30/01/1833
Posse: 30/01/1833
Sob a presidência: Octaviano Maria da Rosa
Falecimento: 05/04/1864
The son of farmer Antonio Gomes Cândido and Anna Rosa Umbelina de Jesus Gomes Cândido, Francisco de Paula Cândido was born on April 2, 1805, at the Macuco farm in Piranga, district of Mariana, in the State of Minas Gerais. He was the son-in-law of Manoel Ignacio de Andrade Souto Maior Pinto Coelho, also known as the Marquês de Itanhaém (Marquis of Itanhaém), an Imperial Senator who succeeded José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva as Emperor Dom Pedro II’s tutor.
At the age of eight, he joined a theological seminar in the town of Mariana to serve under the Church. However, he did not enjoy being secluded inside an institution and thus decided to leave. In 1821, he joined the armed forces and studied for three years at the Royal Military Academy in Rio de Janeiro. Four years later, in 1825, the young man headed to Europe and enrolled at the Paris School of Medicine (University of Sorbonne). From 1825 to 1832, he attended institutes and higher education centers of education in Paris, France, successfully concluding a Bachelor’s in Arts in 1829, and shortly after, another bachelor’s degree, this time in Medical Sciences.
Dr. Paula Cândido volunteered to work as a doctor at the French government’s “sanitary legion,” assembled to help handle the cholera epidemic; his remarkable efforts were acknowledged with the Grand Gold Medal. On August 31, 1832, he concluded his medical studies at the Paris School of Medicine, after successfully defending a thesis named “Sur l’électricité animale” (“On Animal Electricity”), which he additionally submitted to the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine. There, he passed a public examination and secured a position in the Department of Medical Physics in March 1833, a job he kept for 30 years.
Appointed as a Full Member of Rio de Janeiro Medical Society upon presenting a dissertation titled “Observations on Typhoid Fever,” Dr. Paula Cândido was officially sworn in at a session held on January 30, 1833. He would later be reelected to serve as President for three terms: in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 1834 at the Rio de Janeiro Medical Society; and during tenures from 1840 to 1842, and from 1852 to 1855 at the Imperial Academy of Medicine, now the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM), whose Chair Number 20 permanently bears his name in recognition of his outstanding contributions to medicine.
Furthermore, Dr. Paula Cândido was voted to represent the Province of Minas Gerais as a Congressman in 1838, a role he would fulfill during the 1838 to 1845, and 1849 to 1856 terms.
On August 14, 1840, the physician and scholar was appointed as a Permanent Physician of the Royal Imperial Chamber, in addition to serving as an Advisor to the Brazilian Empire. Moreover, he was bestowed with the Imperial Order of Christ and the Imperial Order of the Rose in the rank of Grand Dignitary by Emperor Dom Pedro II and decorated with the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic by the Queen of Spain.
Outside of the realm of medicine, Dr. Paula Cândido penned the Annals of Brazilian Medicine and ran the Diário da Saúde health journal, as well as literary newspaper Brasil Ilustrado, which were all popular publications within the Royal Court.
Francisco de Paula Cândido holds the privilege of being the first-ever President of the Junta Central de Higiene Pública (Public Hygiene Central Board), established on September 14, 1850, through decree number 598, and whose aim was to preserve public health and sanitation in Brazilian cities, oversee medical treatments, and inspect public health conditions. The institution, which he presided over until 1864, served as an advisory board to the Imperial Government on public health policies.
The physician gained nationwide acclaim during his time there, particularly with regard to efforts he led to tackle the cholera epidemic and to control endemic yellow fever outbreaks in several parts of the country. Throughout his entire career, Dr. Paula Cândido always endeavored to improve and spread awareness of the importance of pharmacies for the country. In addition, he supported the country’s March 1851-established Pharmaceutical Society, ran by Ezequiel Corrêa dos Santos. The latter, alongside other renowned pharmacists in the likes of Manoel Francisco Peixoto and Frenchmen Jean Marie Soullié and João Francisco Blanc, had already been working at the Pharmacy Division of the Imperial Academy of Medicine.
Other distinctions awarded to Dr. Paula Cândido include membership to the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute (IHGB) and the titles of Honorary Member of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, Member of the Paris-based L’Académie Diplomatique, Member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, and Patron of Chair Number 16 of the State of Minas Gerais Academy of Letters.
Dr. Francisco de Paula Cândido passed away on April 5, 1864, at the age of 58. He is buried at the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris, France.
As a posthumous tribute to the acclaimed sanitarian, the district of Paula Cândido in the State of Minas Gerais was named after him.
Acad. Francisco Sampaio