José Francisco Xavier Sigaud was born in Marseille, France, on December 2, 1796, to Jeronymo Sigaud and Marie Catarine Eyglument.
Already a Bachelor of Arts, he started studying medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier, France, but ultimately graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Strasbourg, also in France, on September 7, 1818, after defending a thesis titled “Recherches et observations sur la phthisie laryngée” (“Research and Observations on Laryngeal Tuberculosis Laryngitis”).
However, due to an increasing political persecution stemming from hostility towards Napoleon Bonaparte during the reign of Charles X of France (1824-1830), Sigaud emigrated to Brazil, arriving in the city of Rio de Janeiro on September 7, 1825, where he chose to settle.
The Frenchman brought with him a recommendation letter from Ange Hyacinthe Maxence of Cormaillon, the Baron de Damas and then Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, to Jacques-Marie Aymard, the Count d’Ursel and Consul General of France to Brazil. This document recommended Sigaud as a highly qualified physician and naturalist interested in practicing medicine and conducting studies in the field of natural history.
Settling in Rio de Janeiro, he became a well-known personality in the city due to his relentless editorial activities, which he developed alongside fellow Frenchman and bookseller Pierre Plancher.
The Sigaud-Plancher duo played a seminal role in the history of literature and the press in Brazil during the First Reign, as well as during the Regency Period of the Empire of Brazil. Among their many efforts, for instance, they were responsible for establishing the Jornal do Commercio newspaper in 1827, which would become one of Rio de Janeiro’s – the capital of the Brazilian Empire at the time – most widely circulated newspapers.
In 1829, alongside his peers Joaquim Candido Soares de Meirelles, José Martins da Cruz Jobim, Luiz Vicente de Simoni, and Jean Maurice Faivre, Dr. Sigaud founded the Medical Society of Rio de Janeiro, whose inaugural meetings were held in the homes of physicians, including José Francisco Xavier Sigaud’s residence. He was charged with the duty of penning the society’s bylaws, in addition to serving as its President for several terms (2nd quarter of 1830, 1st and 2nd semesters of 1832, and from 1851 to 1852).
Furthermore, Dr. Sigaud founded the first Brazilian medical journal in 1827, which bore the lengthy name of “O Propagador das Sciencias Médicas ou Anaes de Medicina, Cirurgia e Pharmacia; para o Império do Brasil e Nações Estrangeiras” (“The Advocate of Medical Sciences or Annals of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy; for the Empire of Brazil and Foreign Nations”). He was also the mastermind behind the “Semanário de Saúde Pública” (“The Weekly Public Health Journal”) publication edited by the Medical Society of Rio de Janeiro, launched on January 3, 1831, and of which he served as editor until 1835.
That same year, he partnered again united with Plancher to edit the “Diario de Saude ou Ephemerides das Sciencias Medicas e naturaes do Brazil (“Health Journal or Ephemerides of Medical and Natural Sciences of Brazil),” which was terminated in 1846. His peers Francisco de Paula Cândido and Francisco Crispiniano Valdetaro, a physician and teacher of the princess daughters of Emperor Dom Pedro II, also contributed to the publication.
He took advantage of the journal to publish part of the material that would later comprise his main work, titled “Du climat et des maladies du Brésil ou statistique médicale de cet Empire”) (“On the Climate and Diseases of Brazil, or Medical Statistics of the Empire”), in 1844.
On November 12, 1833, the renowned physician José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva appointed Dr. Sigaud as an Honorary Physician to the Imperial Family due to his outstanding medical services provided to Emperor Dom Pedro II, particularly regarding an illness that had stricken the Emperor. In 1840, in turn, he rose to the rank of Physician of the Royal Imperial Chamber.
On July 15, 1843, Sigaud traveled to France to deepen his knowledge on a disease (leber congenital amaurosis) that had compromised his daughter’s vision and to edit his “Du Climat et des Maladies du Brésil” (“On the Climate and Diseases of Brazil”) paper. During his time in Paris, his strong ties to Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848) and Angel Renzi, the first being a Member, whereas the latter served as the Treasury Administrator of the Institute de France, led Sigaud to be invited to a session held on January 17, 1844. During this time, he read out loud his “Sur les progrès de la Geographie au Brésil et sur la nécessité de dresser une carte Générale de cet Empire” (“On the Progress of Geography in Brazil and the Need to Devise a General Map Letter of the Empire”) dissertation.
The paper was published in the L’Investigateur – Journal de Institut Historique (The Investigator – Journal of the Historical Institute) journal. In addition, the writer and traveler Jean Fernand Denis (1798-1890) shared rare documents to help him with his paper, which was published in Paris, France, in 1844. The work was met with enthusiasm, particularly by the National Academy of Medicine in Paris. As a result, Dr. Sigaud was decorated with the Grand Cross of the French Legion of Honor.
José Francisco Xavier Sigaud returned to Brazil on August 10, 1844, where his work was also highly acclaimed, leading the Emperor to decorate him with the title of Knight of the Order of the Southern Cross medal and the Imperial Academy of Medicine also commending him for his work.
The renowned physician also played a pivotal role in helping to establish the Imperial Instituto dos Meninos Cegos (Imperial Institute for Blind Children) on September 12, 1854. The institution was inspired by the Paris-based Institut des Enfants Aveugles (National Institute for Blind Youth), where a young blind boy named José Alvares de Azevedo, the son of Manoel Álvares de Azevedo, had studied. Upon returning to Brazil, the latter offered to tutor Sigaud’s daughter, Adèle Marie Louise Sigaud, who had been blind since she was 15 years old. This influenced Dr. Sigaud to commit to setting up an institution based on the French organization.
Dr. Sigaud proceeded to introduce the young teacher to Emperor Dom Pedro II, for whom Sigaud served as a personal physician, with the aim of fostering the establishment of such an institution. Backed by Emperor Dom Pedro II, the aforementioned institute for blind boys was inaugurated on December 17, 1854, at a rural property in the Morro da Saúde neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Sigaud served as its first Dean and remained in the position until his death. His daughter, Adèle Marie Louse Sigaud, on the other hand, was its first student and later worked there as a kindergarten and music teacher.
On June 19, 1859, a stone pillar was inaugurated in honor of Dr. Sigaud at the Great Hall of the Imperial Instituto dos Meninos Cegos, bearing the following inscription: “J.F.X. Sigaud, collaborator of J.A. Azevedo in the establishment of the Instituto dos Meninos Cegos, and its first Dean.” In 1890, the institute, renamed the Instituto Benjamin Constant institute, was transferred to a building located in nowadays Avenida Pasteur street in the neighborhood of Urca in Rio de Janeiro. Afterwards, a new road called Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud was inaugurated close to the recently erected building.
Dr. José Francisco Xavier Sigaud passed away in a state of impoverishment on October 10, 1856, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the Instituto Imperial dos Meninos Cegos that he had helped to establish.
Número acadêmico: 2
Membro: Fundador
Eleição: 28/05/1829
Posse: 30/06/1829
Sob a presidência: Joaquim Candido Soares de Meirelles
Falecimento: 10/10/1856
Número acadêmico: 2
Membro: Fundador
Eleição: 28/05/1829
Posse: 30/06/1829
Sob a presidência: Joaquim Candido Soares de Meirelles
Falecimento: 10/10/1856
José Francisco Xavier Sigaud was born in Marseille, France, on December 2, 1796, to Jeronymo Sigaud and Marie Catarine Eyglument.
Already a Bachelor of Arts, he started studying medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier, France, but ultimately graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Strasbourg, also in France, on September 7, 1818, after defending a thesis titled “Recherches et observations sur la phthisie laryngée” (“Research and Observations on Laryngeal Tuberculosis Laryngitis”).
However, due to an increasing political persecution stemming from hostility towards Napoleon Bonaparte during the reign of Charles X of France (1824-1830), Sigaud emigrated to Brazil, arriving in the city of Rio de Janeiro on September 7, 1825, where he chose to settle.
The Frenchman brought with him a recommendation letter from Ange Hyacinthe Maxence of Cormaillon, the Baron de Damas and then Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, to Jacques-Marie Aymard, the Count d’Ursel and Consul General of France to Brazil. This document recommended Sigaud as a highly qualified physician and naturalist interested in practicing medicine and conducting studies in the field of natural history.
Settling in Rio de Janeiro, he became a well-known personality in the city due to his relentless editorial activities, which he developed alongside fellow Frenchman and bookseller Pierre Plancher.
The Sigaud-Plancher duo played a seminal role in the history of literature and the press in Brazil during the First Reign, as well as during the Regency Period of the Empire of Brazil. Among their many efforts, for instance, they were responsible for establishing the Jornal do Commercio newspaper in 1827, which would become one of Rio de Janeiro’s – the capital of the Brazilian Empire at the time – most widely circulated newspapers.
In 1829, alongside his peers Joaquim Candido Soares de Meirelles, José Martins da Cruz Jobim, Luiz Vicente de Simoni, and Jean Maurice Faivre, Dr. Sigaud founded the Medical Society of Rio de Janeiro, whose inaugural meetings were held in the homes of physicians, including José Francisco Xavier Sigaud’s residence. He was charged with the duty of penning the society’s bylaws, in addition to serving as its President for several terms (2nd quarter of 1830, 1st and 2nd semesters of 1832, and from 1851 to 1852).
Furthermore, Dr. Sigaud founded the first Brazilian medical journal in 1827, which bore the lengthy name of “O Propagador das Sciencias Médicas ou Anaes de Medicina, Cirurgia e Pharmacia; para o Império do Brasil e Nações Estrangeiras” (“The Advocate of Medical Sciences or Annals of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy; for the Empire of Brazil and Foreign Nations”). He was also the mastermind behind the “Semanário de Saúde Pública” (“The Weekly Public Health Journal”) publication edited by the Medical Society of Rio de Janeiro, launched on January 3, 1831, and of which he served as editor until 1835.
That same year, he partnered again united with Plancher to edit the “Diario de Saude ou Ephemerides das Sciencias Medicas e naturaes do Brazil (“Health Journal or Ephemerides of Medical and Natural Sciences of Brazil),” which was terminated in 1846. His peers Francisco de Paula Cândido and Francisco Crispiniano Valdetaro, a physician and teacher of the princess daughters of Emperor Dom Pedro II, also contributed to the publication.
He took advantage of the journal to publish part of the material that would later comprise his main work, titled “Du climat et des maladies du Brésil ou statistique médicale de cet Empire”) (“On the Climate and Diseases of Brazil, or Medical Statistics of the Empire”), in 1844.
On November 12, 1833, the renowned physician José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva appointed Dr. Sigaud as an Honorary Physician to the Imperial Family due to his outstanding medical services provided to Emperor Dom Pedro II, particularly regarding an illness that had stricken the Emperor. In 1840, in turn, he rose to the rank of Physician of the Royal Imperial Chamber.
On July 15, 1843, Sigaud traveled to France to deepen his knowledge on a disease (leber congenital amaurosis) that had compromised his daughter’s vision and to edit his “Du Climat et des Maladies du Brésil” (“On the Climate and Diseases of Brazil”) paper. During his time in Paris, his strong ties to Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848) and Angel Renzi, the first being a Member, whereas the latter served as the Treasury Administrator of the Institute de France, led Sigaud to be invited to a session held on January 17, 1844. During this time, he read out loud his “Sur les progrès de la Geographie au Brésil et sur la nécessité de dresser une carte Générale de cet Empire” (“On the Progress of Geography in Brazil and the Need to Devise a General Map Letter of the Empire”) dissertation.
The paper was published in the L’Investigateur – Journal de Institut Historique (The Investigator – Journal of the Historical Institute) journal. In addition, the writer and traveler Jean Fernand Denis (1798-1890) shared rare documents to help him with his paper, which was published in Paris, France, in 1844. The work was met with enthusiasm, particularly by the National Academy of Medicine in Paris. As a result, Dr. Sigaud was decorated with the Grand Cross of the French Legion of Honor.
José Francisco Xavier Sigaud returned to Brazil on August 10, 1844, where his work was also highly acclaimed, leading the Emperor to decorate him with the title of Knight of the Order of the Southern Cross medal and the Imperial Academy of Medicine also commending him for his work.
The renowned physician also played a pivotal role in helping to establish the Imperial Instituto dos Meninos Cegos (Imperial Institute for Blind Children) on September 12, 1854. The institution was inspired by the Paris-based Institut des Enfants Aveugles (National Institute for Blind Youth), where a young blind boy named José Alvares de Azevedo, the son of Manoel Álvares de Azevedo, had studied. Upon returning to Brazil, the latter offered to tutor Sigaud’s daughter, Adèle Marie Louise Sigaud, who had been blind since she was 15 years old. This influenced Dr. Sigaud to commit to setting up an institution based on the French organization.
Dr. Sigaud proceeded to introduce the young teacher to Emperor Dom Pedro II, for whom Sigaud served as a personal physician, with the aim of fostering the establishment of such an institution. Backed by Emperor Dom Pedro II, the aforementioned institute for blind boys was inaugurated on December 17, 1854, at a rural property in the Morro da Saúde neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Sigaud served as its first Dean and remained in the position until his death. His daughter, Adèle Marie Louse Sigaud, on the other hand, was its first student and later worked there as a kindergarten and music teacher.
On June 19, 1859, a stone pillar was inaugurated in honor of Dr. Sigaud at the Great Hall of the Imperial Instituto dos Meninos Cegos, bearing the following inscription: “J.F.X. Sigaud, collaborator of J.A. Azevedo in the establishment of the Instituto dos Meninos Cegos, and its first Dean.” In 1890, the institute, renamed the Instituto Benjamin Constant institute, was transferred to a building located in nowadays Avenida Pasteur street in the neighborhood of Urca in Rio de Janeiro. Afterwards, a new road called Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud was inaugurated close to the recently erected building.
Dr. José Francisco Xavier Sigaud passed away in a state of impoverishment on October 10, 1856, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the Instituto Imperial dos Meninos Cegos that he had helped to establish.