José María Vargas

Jose María Vargas
Jose María Vargas
President of Venezuela
	In office; 9 February 1835 – 9 July 1835
Preceded by	Andrés Narvarte
Succeeded by	José María Carreño
	In office; August 20, 1835 – April 24, 1836
Preceded by	José María Carreño
Succeeded by	Andrés Narvarte
Personal details
Born	10 March 1786; La Guaira, Venezuela
Died	13 July 1854 (aged 68); New York City, United States
Spouse	Encarnación Maitín
Signature

José María Vargas Ponce (10 March 1786, in La Guaira – 13 April 1854, in New York City) was the president of Venezuela from 1835 to 1836. Vargas was Venezuela's first civilian president.

He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the Seminario Tridentino, and obtained in 1809 his medical degree from the Real y Pontificia Universidad de Caracas. Vargas was imprisoned in 1813 for revolutionary activities. Upon his release in 1813, he travelled to Europe for medical training.^[1] Vargas performed cataract surgery. He was one of the earliest oculists (eye surgeons) in Puerto Rico after his arrival there in 1817.^[1] He returned to Venezuela to practice medicine and surgery in 1825.^[1] He resigned from his presidency in 1836.

Personal life

José María Vargas was married to Encarnación Maitín,^{[citation needed]} who served as First Lady of Venezuela from 1835 to 1836.^{[citation needed]} In 1877, his ashes were brought to Caracas and buried in the National Pantheon on 27 April of that same year.

Encarnación Maitín in 1827

Honors

The Venezuelan state of Vargas is named after him.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Leffler CT, Wainsztein RD (2016). "The first cataract surgeons in Latin America (1611-1830)". Clinical Ophthalmology. 10: 679–94. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S105825. PMC 4841434. PMID 27143845.

External links

(in Spanish) Doctor José María Vargas – Official biography.
(in Spanish) José María Vargas
José María Vargas at Find a Grave

Political offices
Preceded by Andrés Narvarte	President of Venezuela 9 February 1835 – 9 July 1835	Succeeded by José María Carreño
Preceded by José María Carreño	President of Venezuela 20 August 1835 – 24 April 1836	Succeeded by Andrés Narvarte
Academic offices
Preceded by José Cecilio Avila	Rector of the Central University of Venezuela 1827-1829	Succeeded by José Nicolás Díaz