Fernando José Salvador Valdés Aguirre

He was born in the Villa de San Julián de los Güines, the son of Antonio and Josefa Gabriela, natives of La Habana. He was named Fernando José Salvador at his baptism in the parish of Mayabeque on June 24 of that year by his godparents and paternal grandparents Salvador and Filomena.

He studied his primary education in his native town and in 1848, at age 11, he enrolled in the San Cristóbal school and later in Santo Tomás, both in the capital; in 1853, at only 16 years old, he collaborated with the newspaper "La Discusión" of Madrid.

He graduated as a bachelor in Philosophy and Pharmacy in 1854 from El Salvador school and in 1857 he earned his degree in Sciences from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Royal Literary University of La Habana.

In 1855 he wrote his refutation against José de Armas y Céspedes and published a work with a series of articles titled Joyas del Parnaso Cubano. It is in this year, at age 18, that he wrote verses in which he expressed his principles of love in his struggle to reach the highest levels and his qualities of honesty.

At age 21, in 1858, he released his book "Cuba y los extranjeros," published by the Parisian company E. Thunot in which he demonstrated his love for his homeland and defended it against foreigners who judged and insulted it without knowing its values.

Between 1858-68 he signed numerous printed works; his activities related to study, research, literature, pedagogy, sociology, philosophy, politics... he left a prolific body of work in Correo de la Tarde, Archivo de La Habana, Brisas de Cuba with Santiago de la Huerta and Néstor Ponce, El Regañón, El Duende, El Siglo, Floresta Cubana, Revista Habanera, Revista de La Habana, La Piragua, El Caleidoscopio, Album cubano de lo bello y de lo bueno, Cuba Literaria, El Ateneo, and between 1863-67 he directed La Emulación, a monthly journal of pharmacy, chemistry and natural history, medicine and toxicology.

He also completed a statistical study on yellow fever and a profile of Cuban hydrology; among his poems stood out El viaje de la vida, Tres amigos, La Sílfide y el niño...

He held the honorary position of Professor of Geography and History at the University in the decade of 1858-68 and in 1859 he moved to Paris where he published his work Apuntes para la historia primitiva de Cuba and put forth before Snider his hypothesis that the continents of Africa and America were once united; in that work he refers to the ancient geography of Cuba, the formation of the continent and its discovery prior to Columbus, the origin of the aborigines and indocubans, our native civilization and its presence in Mexico and the United States.

In France he continued his studies in 1861 as a bachelor, licentiate and doctor in Pharmacy with outstanding grades. That year, back in Cuba, he held the position of substitute professor of Experimental Pharmacy and auxiliary professor at the higher educational institution until 1865; he also taught Critical-Literary History of Pharmacy and Chemical Analysis Applied to Medical Sciences.

In the article "Nuevos doctores" published in issue 1 of Cuba Literaria in 1861, his outstanding qualities were highlighted. He was in charge of directing the Institute of Chemical Research of La Habana, he founded the Society of Legal Medicine, Legal Chemistry and Toxicology, which included sections of Legal Medicine, Legal Chemistry and Medical Jurisprudence with 16 physicians, 8 pharmacists and 8 lawyers, a laboratory, library and bulletin.

In 1862 he was admitted as a supernumerary member of the Academy of Sciences, in July of 1864 he was already a full member and in August he was appointed secretary when he presented his report on the need for a Cuban pharmacopoeia.

In 1865, in addition to being a professor of Chemistry at the University, he was declared a member of the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country.

He was the owner of a pharmacy located on Amistad Street No. 57 in the capital, and had established his family made up of his wife and two small children: Elvira and Fernando.

His Inaugural Oration delivered at the opening of the academic year 1866-67 at the University was published by the Government Press and Captain General, and also in 1866 his Compendio de Química was published.

In 1867 he published Curso Elemental de Química e Historia de la Farmacia en Cuba. He was a member of the Liceo de La Habana, the Ateneo Cubano and the Society El Pilar.

He was an eminently progressive man and on November 12, 1868, he was arrested and imprisoned by order of the captain general Francisco Lersundi, then he was released on conditional liberty. Catalogued as a traitor by colonial authorities, his professorship became vacant and his property was confiscated; he escaped by schooner on February 13, 1869.

In New York he devoted himself to patriotic work, and with Néstor Ponce de León shared the direction of the newspaper La Revolución.

With his health weakened, he left on April 11, 1870, for Cayo Hueso, reuniting with his family on June 9 and continued to serve the cause of liberty. He died on July 20, 1870, although some authors claim it was in 1871, at an age between 33-34 years.

He was an encyclopedic man in the vanguard of culture. Posthumously, in 1905, his book Mi opinión en Pedagogía was published in Guanajay. He was an eloquent and fruitful example of multifaceted hard work and perseverance in service of the Sciences.

Source: Revista de Ciencias Médicas La Habana