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José António Marques

José António Marques, founder of the Portuguese Red Cross, was born in Lisbon on January 29, 1822 and died in the same city on November 8, 1884. He was son of António Emídio Marques and Catarina d´Assunção Marques.

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He finished, at 20, his studies on Medicine at the Escola Médico-Cirúrgica de Lisboa (Medicine and Surgery College of Lisbon). In 1842, by a decree of August of the same year, he was nominated assistant-surgeon and assigned to the Batalhão de Caçadores nº 30. He went over the several levels of the military career, being, in 1851, graduated to the position of Squad Surgeon.

He distinguished himself, not only in his military life, where he played important roles on the Repartição de Saúde do Estado Maior General on the War Ministery, but equally as a journalist, having been one of the collaborators of a highly scientific publication, "O Jornal dos Facultativos Militares. Escholiaste Médico", and on his civil medical career.

He's the author of countless scientific works. His memory "Aperçu historique de l'ophtalmie militaire portugaise", presented, in 1857, in the ophthalmology congress, in Brussels, granted him the titles of Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Surgery, by the University of Brussels.

He represented Portugal in several congresses of the specialty of ophthalmology.

In 1864, by nomination of the King Luis I, he represented Portugal at the International Conference, in August of that year, in Geneva, with the goal to discuss over the neutralization, at war times, "of ambulances and hospitals, as well as healthcare personnel, rescuers and wounded people".

Portugal, through Dr. José António Marques, was one of the twelve countries that signed the First Geneva Convention of August 22, 1864, destinadaed to give a better luck to the military staff wounded in campaign.

Back in Portugal, Dr. José António Marques organizes, on February 11, 1865, the "Comissão Portuguesa de Socorros a Feridos e Doentes Militares em Tempo de Guerra", the former designation of the Portuguese Red Cross.

For his services to the country and the Army, several condecorations were attributed to this famous medician, founder and 1st Secretary-General of the Portuguese Red Cross, among which the Comenda da Ordem de S. Bento de Aviz, the Grau de Cavaleiro da Ordem de Cristo e de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa, and Knight of the Orders of Leopold I of Belgium and of Charles III of Spain.