António Nunes Ribeiro Sanches

Penamacor 1699 - Paris 1783

Portuguese physician, philosopher and encyclopédiste. After he studied in the universities of Coimbra and Salamanca, Sanches moved to London. He then went to Leyden University where he completed his formation under the direction of Herman Boerhaave. He was among the three physicians that empress Anna of Russia asked the latter to recommend to her in 1731. Appointed doctor of the Russian army, he distinguished himself before becoming a court physician. After more than 15 years of stay in Russia, he left the country in 1748 after empress Elizabeth Petrowna had denounced two of his doctor colleagues as Jews. Having had the chance, amid the daily proscriptions which he witnessed to be allowed to leave the country, he took the way to Paris in 1748 where he ended his life. After she ascended to the throne, Catherine the Great rewarded him for his services with a pension of 1000 rubles, which was punctually paid until his death. He gave the article « Vérole » to the Encyclopédie by Diderot and D'Alembert.

José Luis Doria, Antonio Ribeiro Sanches. A Portuguese doctor in 18th century Europe, «Vesalius», VII, 1, 27 - 35, 2001

Main works: Discurso Sobre as Águas de Penha Garcia (1726); A Dissertation on the Venereal Disease (1751); Tratado da Conservação da Saúde dos Povos (1756); Cartas sobre a Educação da Mocidade (1760); Fundamentos da Sociedade Cristã e Política (1760); Método para Aprender e Estudar a Medicina (1763); Mémoire sur les Bains de Vapeur en Russie (1779); Christaos Novos e Christaos Velhos em Portugal, Lisboa, Paisagem 1973; Dificuldades Que Tern um Reino Velho Para Emendarse e Outros Textos, Lisboa, Horizonte 1980; Obras – Antonio Ribeiro Sanches, 2 vol., Coimbra, Imprensa da Universidade 1959.

Bibliography: M. Ferreira de Mira, Historia da Medicina Portuguesa, Lisboa, Empresa Nacional de Publicidade 1947; E. Franco, Glorias da Medicina Portuguesa, Lisboa 1949, pp. 183-217; M. de Lemos, Historia da Medicina em Portugal, reimpressao, Lisboa, Ordem dos Medicos / Publicacoes Dom Quixote 1991; Id., Ribeiro Sanches – A Sua Vida e a Sua Obra; Porto 1911; W.M. Richter, Geschichte der Medicin in Russland, Theil III, Moskwa 1817, pp. 263-266; J.V. Serrao, Historia de Portugal, vol. VI, Lisboa, Verbo 1982; D. Willemse, Antonio Nunes Ribeiro Sanches Éleve de Boerhaave et son Importance pour la Russie, Leyden, E.J. Brill 1966.

Online resources:

José Luis Doria, Antonio Ribeiro Sanches : A Portuguese doctor in 18th century Europe

last modify: 2018-11-13 11:12:16