Rosendo Ayres Ribeiro ( Goa, 1871 —

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 2 February 1951) was a Portuguese physician and diplomat.

Career

He arrived in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

in May 1889 and later, as Goa was part of the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

, was entitled Vice-Consul of Portugal in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

. He was

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

’s first private medical practitioner and the first to diagnose

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

in this country. Curiously, he used to ride a

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

he tamed to attend his patients' house calls. Ribeiro is a recipient of the Order of British Empire for the extent of his benevolent works in Kenya., Errol. ''The Kenya Pioneers''. Heinemann, 1985. 240 p.

References

1871 births 1951 deaths Portuguese diplomats Portuguese people of Goan descent Portuguese general practitioners Kenyan general practitioners 19th-century Portuguese physicians 20th-century Kenyan physicians Kenyan people of Goan descent People from Portuguese India {{Portugal-med-bio-stub