José María Albiñana (13 October 1883 – 23 August 1936) was a Spanish

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

eugenicist Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetics, genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human Phenotype, phenotypes by ...

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

, medical writer, philosopher and anti-republican right-wing

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Born in

Enguera Enguera is a municipality in southwestern province of Valencia, Spain. The local economy depends primarily on agriculture, and secondarily on industry and services. In recent years, agricultural crops, especially olives, have gained in importanc ...

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, he was a Doctor of Medicine specialising in mental health. He was also a doctor in law and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and with Delgado Barreto founded the Partido Nacionalista Español.

Medicine

Albiñanawas an academic of the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina of Spain where he was awarded for his work in medical philosophy ''Concepto actual de la Filosofía médica y su valor en el desarrollo de la Medicina''. Albiñana founded the newspaper ''La Sanidad Civil'' in order to vindicate the rights of medical professionals, and was funded by the state. In 1920 he was elected to the chair of History of Medicine at the University of Alcala but without success and later distanced himself from university life. From his early 20s he began publishing medical literature and philosophy. His notable works of his first 20 years in the profession are shown below in his published works. Albiñana later became a supporter of eugenics.

Mexico

In the 1920s, Albiñana continued his activity in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, in the Mexican capital, where he established his own clinic. He became acquainted with the

Hispanic-American Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to the ...

way of life and attended many conferences, publishing a multitude of new works and three autobiographical novels: ''Sol de Levante'' (Gerardo Sisniega, México, 1923), ''Aventuras Tropicales. En busca del oro verde'' (Madrid, 1928) and ''Bajo el cielo mejicano'' (Cía. Ibero-Americana de Publicaciones Madrid, 1930). Albiñana's time in Mexico was marred by political unrest and violence. Madero had been assassinated in 1913,

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; 8 August 1879 – 10 April 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the insp ...

in 1919,

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

in 1923 and Carranza in 1920. Farmer revolts, coup d'etats and crime became the political norm. Obregón was assassinated in 1928 and the

Cristero War The Cristero War (), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularism, secularist and anti-clericalism, anticler ...

broke out with the cristeros representing the aspiration of the Mexican Catholics. Such was the mistrust of foreigners during this period, that Albinana was later expelled from the country under

Plutarco Elías Calles Plutarco Elías Calles (born Francisco Plutarco Elías Campuzano; 25 September 1877 – 19 October 1945) was a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the 47th President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928. After the assassination of Ál ...

Burgos delegate

Albiñana returned to Spain in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

where he was later elected as its delegate in 1934, and reelected in 1936, although by this time his Valencian accent had become mixed with a Mexican accent causing some suspicion. Over time he gained the trust of the people in Burgos, catering to the needs of the neighbourhoods and readily answering questions. He brought about a number of infrastructural developments in Burgos including the legal work for the Compañía de Aguas de Burgos (Burgos Water Company), installation of the telephone in Villarcayo and

Medina de Pomar Medina de Pomar is a municipality and town located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain, 77 km from Bilbao, and 8 kilometres from Villarcayo. Medina de Pomar is part of the Comarca of Las Merindades. Notable people * Ram ...

, and the installation and creation of Burgos Airport, securing important subsidies and investors to develop the region.

Assassination and tribute

Albiñana was murdered along with other prominent politicians by militia men during the Cárcel Modelo massacre. With the triumph of the

Nationalist faction The Nationalist faction (), also Rebel faction () and Francoist faction () was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup of July 1936 ...

, streets in several localities, mainly in his native Valencia, were dedicated to him.

Published works

*''La medicina en verso. Colección de humoradas médico-literarias'', (1904) *''Fraternidad y cultura. Medios que pueden ponerse en práctica por el Estado, corporaciones o particulares para auxiliar a los estudiantes que no dispongan de medios de fortuna'' (Valencia, 1905) *''La medicación catodilítico-fosfatada en el tratamiento de la neurastenia Congreso de la Asociación Española para el progreso de la Ciencia'' (Zaragoza, 1908) *''Orientación de la juventud ante el problema religioso'' (Valencia, 1910) *''Los crímenes del caciquismo: la tragedia de El Pobo. Defensa del médico don Alfredo Alegre. Informe presentado en el jucio oral ...'' (Madrid, 1918) *''La ignorancia de las Academias'' (Madrid, 1918) *''Cooperación española a la formación de la Escuela Médica de Montellier'' Primer Congreso Internacional de la Historia de la Medicina ( Amberes, 1920) *''Desarrollo de las Comunidades Espirituales'' (192?) *''Programa para un curso de Historia Crítica de la Medicina'' (1921) *''La situación de México vista desde España Ateneo de Madrid'' (Madrid, 1921) *''Sol de Levante'' (Gerardo Sisniega, México, 1923) *''Aventuras Tropicales. En busca del oro verde'' (Madrid, 1928) *''Bajo el cielo mejicano'' (Cía. Ibero-Americana de Publicaciones Madrid, 1930)

Bibliography

*Luis Palacios Bañuelos, ''Elecciones en Burgos 1931-1936. El Partido Nacionalista Español'', Publicaciones de la Cátedra de Historia Contemporánea de España. Universidad Complutense, Madrid, 1981. *

Julio Gil Pecharromán Julio Gil Pecharromán (born 1955) is a Spanish historian, specialising in the political history of 20th-century Spain. Biography Born in Madrid in 1955, he studied both History and Journalism at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). He ...

, ''Sobre España inmortal, solo Dios, José María Albiñana y el Partido Nacionalista Español (1930-1937).'' Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, 2002. *Asvero Gravelli, 'Verso L'Internazionale Fascista"'', Roma 1.932El autor se centra en el estudio del caso español, prestando un especial interés en la figura del Dr. Albiñana *María Concepción Marcos del Olmo, ''La Segunda República en Burgos'', en Historia de Burgos, Diario16 de Burgos, 1993. *Luis Palacios Bañuelos, ''La Segunda República en Burgos'', En Historia de Burgos, tomo IV, Caja de Burgos, Burgos, 2002. *Arnaud Imatz, ''José Antonio, entre el odio y el amor. Su historia como fue''. Madrid, Áltera, 2006.

References

External links

Arbil, nº78 El ideal monárquico en la II República
at arbil.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Albinana, Jose 1883 births 1936 deaths People from Canal de Navarrés Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Spanish eugenicists Spanish medical writers Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) People executed by Spain by firearm People killed by the Second Spanish Republic Executed Spanish people 20th-century Spanish physicians People from Enguera Hispanic eugenics