Silva (Matias Figueira da)
Biography of Matias Figueira da Silva, a Funchal-born physician (b. 1843) who emigrated to the United States and practised medicine in Brooklyn. He was also a co-author of the unpublished mock-heroic poem Guyaneida.
He was born in Funchal in 1843, the son of José Figueira da Silva, and attended the lyceum (state secondary school) of this city. He then went to Coimbra, where he enrolled in the faculties of mathematics and philosophy of the University. Having fallen ill after a few months, he returned to Funchal, going back to Coimbra only the following year, not to continue the studies he had begun but to enrol in the Faculty of Law. He did not complete that course either, because his lung complaints worsened in that city. As his native air did not restore his health, he travelled to the United States, where he had an uncle of some means. He got on so well in that country that he decided to stay there, and some time later he enrolled in a school of medicine, completing the course with the highest distinction. For many years he practised his profession in the city of Brooklyn, where he was highly regarded for his learning and tact as a physician. He still lives there, although he gave up practice some years ago. He published various articles in American medical journals, especially in New York, and while he lived in Madeira he contributed to some local newspapers. He was also one of the authors of ‘The Guiana Epic’ (see that entry), a mock-heroic poem that was never printed, but of which copies are held by various people in Funchal.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 01Place
Places mentioned · 05
Abroad
- Brooklyn
United States. City where he practised medicine for many years.
City where he practised medicine for many years.
- Coimbra
Portugal. University city where he studied mathematics, philosophy and law without finishing.
Portuguese mainland university city where many Madeirans studied law or medicine, and where Padre Luís Gonçalves da Câmara taught and was rector of the Jesuit college. It hosted the 1921 academic table-tennis championship, and its dormancy and rainfall data are compared with Funchal's.
- Funchal
Birthplace of Matias Figueira da Silva, where he attended the liceu.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- New York
United States of America. City of the medical journals to which he contributed.
Nova Iorque (New York) is the city where books by John Dix and a second edition of Colvocoress's book were published, and where Matias Figueira da Silva contributed to medical journals. Moisés Gonçalves qualified at a dental school there, and Alípio Augusto Ferreira died there in poverty.
- United States
Country to which he travelled for his health and where he settled.
Country to which he travelled for his health and where he settled.
People
People mentioned · 02- Matias Figueira da Silvab. 1843
Funchal-born physician who studied at Coimbra, qualified in medicine in the United States and practised in Brooklyn; co-author of the Guyaneida.
- José Figueira da Silvad. 1858
Father of the physician Matias Figueira da Silva.