Miguel O'Gorman

Miguel O'Gorman (1749-1819) was an Irish physician, who served in Buenos Aires during the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata.[1]

Miguel O'Gorman
Head of the Protomedicato del Río de la Plata
In office
? – ?
MonarchCharles IV
Personal details
Born1749
Ennis, Ireland
Died1819
Buenos Aires, Argentina
NationalityIrish
OccupationPhysician
Professionmedicine
Signature
Military service
AllegianceSpain

Biography

O'Gorman was born in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, son of Thomas O'Gorman and Mary Bakin, belonging to a traditional Irish family. He completed his elementary studies in his native country, and obtained a doctorate in medicine in the Reims University, France,[2] country where the O'Gorman family had served in the Irish brigades.

He arrived at Rio de la Plata in 1777, in the expedition of Pedro de Cevallos, whom he had accompanied in the capture of Santa Catarina and Colonia del Sacramento.[3] O'Gorman was personal physician of Cevallos and his successor Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo.

In 1801, Miguel O'Gorman together with Cosme Argerich had founded the first medical school in Buenos Aires. In 1805, Gorman had introduced in the city, the smallpox vaccine (discovered by Edward Jenner).[4] Years before introducing the vaccine, he was sent to London by Charles III to learn about the new prophylactic method.[5]

Miguel O'Gorman was uncle of Thomas O'Gorman, the husband of Marie Anne Périchon de Vandeuil, and the ancestor of Camila O'Gorman, executed by order of Juan Manuel de Rosas in 1848.[6]

References
  1. Anales de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, Volume 1; Volume 3, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1889
  2. Cuadernos de Lenguas Modernas: CLM., Issue 5, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 2005
  3. La ilustración en América colonial: bibliografía crítica, By Diana Soto Arango, Miguel Angel Puig-Samper, Luis Carlos Arboleda, 1995, ISBN 9788487111648
  4. Ciudad de angeles: historia del cementerio de la Recoleta, by Omar López Mato
  5. El Alto de San Pedro: parroquias de La Concepción y de San Telmo, Municipalidad de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, 1971
  6. Camila O' Gorman, by Marta Merkin, July 2012, ISBN 9789875668386
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