Antônio Fernandes Figueira was born in the city of Rio de Janeiro on June 13, 1863, to Manoel Fernandes Figueira and D. Genuína da Rocha Figueira. He had a difficult childhood, being born to a poor family and with his mother dying while giving birth to him.
He enrolled at Rio de Janeiro’s Pedro Segundo school for his elementary studies and later graduated in medicine from the former Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine in 1886, upon submitting and defending a final paper addressing the topic of “Pathogenic Conditions and Clinical Modalities of Hysteria.” While still a student, Figueira attended open-learning classes in pediatrics taught by Carlos Arthur Moncorvo de Figueiredo at the General Polyclinic of Rio de Janeiro and worked as an assistant to Cândido Barata Ribeiro, a Full Professor at the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine Pediatric Clinic.
The recently graduated physician began his medical practice in the city of Juiz de Fora in the State of Minas Gerais, but later returned to his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, where he specialized in pediatrics with a focus on breastfeeding. His clientele consisted mainly of female factory workers and children up to the age of one.
In 1895, Dr. Figueira received the Visconde de Alvarenga (Viscount of Alvarenga) award granted by the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM), after presenting a dissertation titled “Diagnosis of Infant Cardiac Pathologies.” He was elected as a Full Member of the Academy on July 23, 1903, and served as its President during the 1907-1908 term. He is honored with the title of Patron of Chair Number 50.
Figueira gained worldwide recognition after publishing, in 1903, a seminal paper called “Elementos de Semiologia Infantil” (“Elements of Pediatric Semiology”), which was promptly used to educate Brazilian physicians and was deemed the best work on the subject by European pediatricians.
Additionally, the acclaimed doctor ran a ward specializing in pediatric infectious diseases at Rio de Janeiro’s São Sebastião Hospital as well as at the Children’s Polyclinic of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital in the same city. In 1905, Dr. Figueira led the then Escola Profissional de Enfermeiros e Enfermeiras da Assistência a Alienados (Professional School of Nurses), now known as the Alfredo Pinto School of Nursing of the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO). He was further appointed as an Advisory Member to the League of Nations for issues regarding the protection and assistance of children.
The pediatrician served as Head of the Pediatrics Service at the Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital and established the now closed Policlínica das Crianças (Children’s Polyclinic), the first hospital fully dedicated to child health in Rio de Janeiro. Furthermore, he founded the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics, of which he served as President from 1910 to 1927 and was later bestowed the title of Permanent President. Dr. Figueira was a true pioneer in pediatrics in Brazil and the first physician in the country to allow mothers to stay alongside their children in hospital wards for purposes of assisting with their treatment.
Upon an invitation made by Carlos Chagas, he took on the position of Chief Inspector for Children’s Health at the National Department of Health (DNSP), where he spearheaded remarkable efforts to devise children’s health plans aimed at curbing the high infant mortality rate that pervaded the city at the time. He further set up Children’s Health Stations, municipal nurseries, and successfully secured funds from businessmen from the industry sector to set up nurseries in factories.
Dr. Figueira was responsible for establishing the discontinued Arthur Bernardes Hospital and Shelter, now renamed the National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF/Fiocruz), in addition to heading the Pediatric Division (Bourneville Pavillion) of the former Hospital Nacional de Alienados psychiatric clinic. Hired to take on the role by acclaimed psychiatrist Juliano Moreira, he was in charge of treating mentally disabled children in the institution that was the first organization of its kind in the whole of South America.
With regard to medical and pediatrics memberships both in Brazil and abroad, Dr. Figueira held a number of them. These include the Brazilian Historic and Geographical Institute (IHGB); the Rio de Janeiro Medical and Surgical Society; the Pediatric Societies of Uruguay, Argentina, and Paris; the Society of Neurology, Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine; and the Brazilian League of Mental Hygiene. He is the Patron of Chair Number 3 of the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM).
His extensive body of work consists mostly of technical and scientific papers, including the “Bases Científicas da Alimentação da Criança: Suas Consequências Sociais” (“Scientific Bases of Child Feeding: Its Social Consequences,”) booklet published in 1905; the “Livro das Mães” (“Book for Mothers,”) book first published in 1910; and “Elementos de Patologia Infantil” (“Traits of Pediatric Pathology,”), published in 1929, following his passing. The physician additionally contributed to the Brasil Médico medical journal.
In addition to his medical practice and research, Dr. Figueira was a poet and novelist, having published a series of poems called “Adejos” at the age of 17. Furthermore, he wrote the biography of Torres Homem, as well as a book on famous priest Padre Antônio Vieira. To conclude his brilliant resume and career, Dr. Figueira was a lecturer at the Instituto dos Bacharéis em Letras (Institute of Bachelors of Arts) and a Member of both the Sociedade de Ensaios Literários (Society of Literary Works) and the Grêmio Castro Alves (Castro Alves Association), all of them now closed.
As a tribute to the esteemed physician, both the National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF/Fiocruz) – acknowledged by the Ministry of Education as one of Brazil’s leading hospitals in the field today – and the Espaço de Desenvolvimento Infantil Doutor Antônio Fernandes Figueira (Antonio Fernandes Figueira Child Development Institute) of Rio de Janeiro were named after him.
Dr. Antônio Fernandes Figueira passed away in his native city of Rio de Janeiro on March 11, 1928, due to pulmonary edema.
Acad. Francisco Sampaio
Academic number: 231
Chair: 45
Chair honored: 50
Member: Titular
Section: Medicina
Election: 23/07/1903
Inauguration: 23/07/1903
President: Joaquim Pinto Portella
Division (Patron): Medicina
Death: 11/03/1928
Academic number: 231
Chair: 45
Chair honored: 50
Member: Titular
Section: Medicina
Election: 23/07/1903
Inauguration: 23/07/1903
President: Joaquim Pinto Portella
Division (Patron): Medicina
Death: 11/03/1928
Antônio Fernandes Figueira was born in the city of Rio de Janeiro on June 13, 1863, to Manoel Fernandes Figueira and D. Genuína da Rocha Figueira. He had a difficult childhood, being born to a poor family and with his mother dying while giving birth to him.
He enrolled at Rio de Janeiro’s Pedro Segundo school for his elementary studies and later graduated in medicine from the former Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine in 1886, upon submitting and defending a final paper addressing the topic of “Pathogenic Conditions and Clinical Modalities of Hysteria.” While still a student, Figueira attended open-learning classes in pediatrics taught by Carlos Arthur Moncorvo de Figueiredo at the General Polyclinic of Rio de Janeiro and worked as an assistant to Cândido Barata Ribeiro, a Full Professor at the Rio de Janeiro College of Medicine Pediatric Clinic.
The recently graduated physician began his medical practice in the city of Juiz de Fora in the State of Minas Gerais, but later returned to his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, where he specialized in pediatrics with a focus on breastfeeding. His clientele consisted mainly of female factory workers and children up to the age of one.
In 1895, Dr. Figueira received the Visconde de Alvarenga (Viscount of Alvarenga) award granted by the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM), after presenting a dissertation titled “Diagnosis of Infant Cardiac Pathologies.” He was elected as a Full Member of the Academy on July 23, 1903, and served as its President during the 1907-1908 term. He is honored with the title of Patron of Chair Number 50.
Figueira gained worldwide recognition after publishing, in 1903, a seminal paper called “Elementos de Semiologia Infantil” (“Elements of Pediatric Semiology”), which was promptly used to educate Brazilian physicians and was deemed the best work on the subject by European pediatricians.
Additionally, the acclaimed doctor ran a ward specializing in pediatric infectious diseases at Rio de Janeiro’s São Sebastião Hospital as well as at the Children’s Polyclinic of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital in the same city. In 1905, Dr. Figueira led the then Escola Profissional de Enfermeiros e Enfermeiras da Assistência a Alienados (Professional School of Nurses), now known as the Alfredo Pinto School of Nursing of the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO). He was further appointed as an Advisory Member to the League of Nations for issues regarding the protection and assistance of children.
The pediatrician served as Head of the Pediatrics Service at the Santa Casa da Misericórdia General Hospital and established the now closed Policlínica das Crianças (Children’s Polyclinic), the first hospital fully dedicated to child health in Rio de Janeiro. Furthermore, he founded the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics, of which he served as President from 1910 to 1927 and was later bestowed the title of Permanent President. Dr. Figueira was a true pioneer in pediatrics in Brazil and the first physician in the country to allow mothers to stay alongside their children in hospital wards for purposes of assisting with their treatment.
Upon an invitation made by Carlos Chagas, he took on the position of Chief Inspector for Children’s Health at the National Department of Health (DNSP), where he spearheaded remarkable efforts to devise children’s health plans aimed at curbing the high infant mortality rate that pervaded the city at the time. He further set up Children’s Health Stations, municipal nurseries, and successfully secured funds from businessmen from the industry sector to set up nurseries in factories.
Dr. Figueira was responsible for establishing the discontinued Arthur Bernardes Hospital and Shelter, now renamed the National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF/Fiocruz), in addition to heading the Pediatric Division (Bourneville Pavillion) of the former Hospital Nacional de Alienados psychiatric clinic. Hired to take on the role by acclaimed psychiatrist Juliano Moreira, he was in charge of treating mentally disabled children in the institution that was the first organization of its kind in the whole of South America.
With regard to medical and pediatrics memberships both in Brazil and abroad, Dr. Figueira held a number of them. These include the Brazilian Historic and Geographical Institute (IHGB); the Rio de Janeiro Medical and Surgical Society; the Pediatric Societies of Uruguay, Argentina, and Paris; the Society of Neurology, Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine; and the Brazilian League of Mental Hygiene. He is the Patron of Chair Number 3 of the Academia Nacional de Medicina (National Academy of Medicine – ANM).
His extensive body of work consists mostly of technical and scientific papers, including the “Bases Científicas da Alimentação da Criança: Suas Consequências Sociais” (“Scientific Bases of Child Feeding: Its Social Consequences,”) booklet published in 1905; the “Livro das Mães” (“Book for Mothers,”) book first published in 1910; and “Elementos de Patologia Infantil” (“Traits of Pediatric Pathology,”), published in 1929, following his passing. The physician additionally contributed to the Brasil Médico medical journal.
In addition to his medical practice and research, Dr. Figueira was a poet and novelist, having published a series of poems called “Adejos” at the age of 17. Furthermore, he wrote the biography of Torres Homem, as well as a book on famous priest Padre Antônio Vieira. To conclude his brilliant resume and career, Dr. Figueira was a lecturer at the Instituto dos Bacharéis em Letras (Institute of Bachelors of Arts) and a Member of both the Sociedade de Ensaios Literários (Society of Literary Works) and the Grêmio Castro Alves (Castro Alves Association), all of them now closed.
As a tribute to the esteemed physician, both the National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF/Fiocruz) – acknowledged by the Ministry of Education as one of Brazil’s leading hospitals in the field today – and the Espaço de Desenvolvimento Infantil Doutor Antônio Fernandes Figueira (Antonio Fernandes Figueira Child Development Institute) of Rio de Janeiro were named after him.
Dr. Antônio Fernandes Figueira passed away in his native city of Rio de Janeiro on March 11, 1928, due to pulmonary edema.
Acad. Francisco Sampaio