Sebastián Amábile Correa

Sebastián Amábile y Correa. First martyr of Cuban medicine. When José Martí learned of his death he expressed: "Call vile anyone who does not weep for Sebastián Amábile".1845-1869.

He was born in Santiago de Cuba.

After completing his primary studies in his native city, he moved to the United States, where he graduated as a Doctor of Medicine and Surgery in New York. While still a student, he participated in the American Civil War, where he invented and successfully put into practice an ingenious system to prevent infections in the war wounds of soldiers, as noted by American surgeon Wood in his "Surgical Notes".

He returned to La Habana in January 1868 and became involved with independence patriots. He returned to the United States and there joined the first expedition of the ship "Perrit" under the command of Francisco Javier Cisneros and Thomas Jordan.

After the landing on the "El Ramón" peninsula, in Nipe, and at the vanguard of the expeditioners, who had to fight their way from the moment they set foot on land, he received a bullet to his left cheekbone that caused one of his eyes to pop out, tearing it out because it was bothering him while fighting. When his childhood friend Enrique Collazo reproached him for this act, Sebastián replied: "It does not matter, my hours are numbered". He remained seriously ill for several days under the care of Dr. Luáces.

He died on May 29, 1869 in Bijarú.