Antônio Augusto de Azevedo Sodré

Antônio Augusto de Azevedo Sodré was born in the city of Maricá in the State of Rio de Janeiro on December 13, 1864, and as was the case with Álvares de Azevedo and Ribeiro de Almeida, was the descendant of one of Rio de Janeiro’s most traditional families. His father was landowner José Paulo de Azevedo Sodré, and his mother was Cândida Ribeiro de Almeida Sodré. Moreover, he was the nephew of former Supreme Federal Court Minister Antônio Augusto Ribeiro de Almedia (grandfather, on his mother’s side, of architect Oscar Niemeyer’s), who was honored with a street named after him in the neighborhood of Laranjeiras in Rio de Janeiro. 

He graduated in medicine from the former University of Brazil National College of Medicine (today, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ) in 1885 at the age of 21, after defending a thesis titled “Comparative Studies on Different Methods For the Treatment of Syphilis.” Shortly after graduating, he decided to apply for the position of Professor at the college, and despite ranking first in the exam, failed to be nominated by the Emperor due to his young age. A year later, at 22 years old, he took the public examination once more, and again, finished first, but this time he was appointed as Professor of Clinical Medicine, a position he would hold for 39 years. 

In 1886, Dr. Azevedo Sodré started working at the Beneficiência Portuguesa Hospital, and one year later – and only two years after graduating – was appointed as an Associate Physician at the Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, in addition to founding Brasil Médico, a weekly journal on the subjects of medicine and surgery that became the country’s main medical publication for several years. He ran it for 42 years, until his passing. 

Furthermore, Dr. Azevedo Sodré held the position of intern monitor of a Clinical Therapeutics class and also worked an intern at the now terminated Clínica de Doenças Cutâneas e Sifilíticas (Clinic for Skin and Syphilitic Diseases), as well as serving as a monitor at an Experimental Therapeutics class. He further envisioned and established the Rio de Janeiro Medical and Surgical Society, appointing Professor Hilário Soares de Gouvêa as its President, while taking on the role of Vice-President. In 1894, Azevedo Sodré secured the chair of Full Professor of Internal Pathology, and later, the role of Full Professor of Clinical Medicine at the College of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro, which he chaired from 1911 to 1912. 

The physician was subsequently tasked with heading Brazil’s then Federal Sanitary Commission to tackle the cholera epidemic, which he successfully prevented from spreading beyond the Vale do Paraíba in Rio de Janeiro. He would later lead efforts to fully put an end to the epidemic in that region. Additionally, alongside sanitarian doctor Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz, he was chosen to represent the Brazilian government as a Delegate to discuss the Sanitary Convention with the governments of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

To add to his remarkable career and resume, Dr. Azevedo Sodré became a Professor of Public Medicine at the now discontinued Faculdade Livre de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais (School of Legal and Social Sciences), in addition to founding the also closed Vida Equitativa dos Estados Unidos do Brasil (United States of Brazil Equitable Life) insurance company, the largest company of its kind in the country at the time. 

Elected as a Full Member of the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM) after submitting a paper titled “Beriberi”, he was sworn in on July 21, 1898, and chaired the institution from 1905 to 1907. He is forever remembered as the Patron of Chair Number 31. 

In 1915, Dr. Azevedo Sodré rose to the rank of Head of Public Education in the Federal District (now, Rio de Janeiro), founded two schools, established the Serviço Médico Escolar (School Medical Service) program, introduced school meals, and finally, established Parent-Teachers Associations. Furthermore, he made major changes to the syllabus of the Escola Normal do Distrito Federal (a Rio de Janeiro school for the education of teachers), with the aim of allowing future teachers to gain more practical experience in classrooms. 

During the administration of President Wenceslau Braz, the physician was appointed as Mayor of the City of Rio de Janeiro (May 6, 1916, to January 15, 1917), at which time he successfully put an end to an ongoing problem with meat distribution, introduced open-air markets, proposed a single property tax, and inaugurated Avenida Niemeyer, a large avenue in Rio de Janeiro that connects the neighborhoods of Leblon and São Conrado. In turn, while serving as a Congressman for the State of Rio de Janeiro, Azevedo Sodré proved to be a key member of the party led by famous politician Nilo Peçanha and served two distinguished terms in the city’s House of Representatives, namely, in its education and public sanitation committees.

Some of the highlights of the numerous scientific papers he published include “Lições de Patologia Intertropical” (“Lessons on Intertropical Pathology”), “Saneamento no Brasil” (“Sanitation in Brazil”) and his contributions on the subjects of beriberi and diphtheria for the American Medical Association Complete Medical Encyclopedia, in addition to important contributions on yellow fever – in partnership with ANM member Miguel de Oliveira Couto – for the Berlin-based Nothnagel’s Encyclopedia of Practical Medicine, as well as for the Tratado de Medicina de Roger Vidal e Teissier (Roger Vidal and Teissier Medical Treatise) of Paris. 

In 1925, Dr. Azevedo Sodré donated lands in Rio de Janeiro for the purpose of establishing a school to be named after him. Thus, Doctor Antônio Augusto de Azevedo Sodré became the Patron of the Azevedo Sodré Municipal School located in the same city.

Dr. Antônio Augusto de Azevedo Sodré passed away on February 1, 1929, in the location of Fazenda da Quitandinha in the city of Petrópolis in Rio de Janeiro.

He rests in the São João Batista Cemetery in the neighborhood of Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro.

Acad. Francisco Sampaio