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The Most Famous

PHYSICIANS from Brazil

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This page contains a list of the greatest Brazilian Physicians. The pantheon dataset contains 502 Physicians, 3 of which were born in Brazil. This makes Brazil the birth place of the 31st most number of Physicians behind Lithuania and Argentina.

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Brazilian Physicians of all time. This list of famous Brazilian Physicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

Photo of Carlos Chagas

1. Carlos Chagas (1879 - 1934)

With an HPI of 53.16, Carlos Chagas is the most famous Brazilian Physician.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages on wikipedia.

Carlos Justiniano Ribeiro Chagas, or Carlos Chagas (Portuguese: [ˈkaʁluz ʒustʃĩniˈɐ̃nu ʁiˈbejɾu ˈʃaɡɐs]; July 9, 1879 – November 8, 1934), was a Brazilian sanitary physician, scientist, and microbiologist who worked as a clinician and researcher. Most well known for the discovery of an eponymous protozoal infection called Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis, he also discovered the causative fungi of the pneumocystis pneumonia. He described the two pathogens in 1909, while he was working at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro, and named the former Trypanosoma cruzi to honour his friend Oswaldo Cruz. Chagas's work holds a unique place in the history of medicine. Working in primitive conditions, Chagas described in detail a previously-unknown infectious disease, its pathogen, vector (Triatominae), host, clinical manifestations, and epidemiology. Chagas was also the first to discover and illustrate the parasitic fungal genus Pneumocystis, which later became infamous for being linked to pneumocystis pneumonia in AIDS patients.

Photo of Zilda Arns

2. Zilda Arns (1934 - 2010)

With an HPI of 51.46, Zilda Arns is the 2nd most famous Brazilian Physician.  Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Zilda Arns Neumann (25 August 1934 – 12 January 2010) was a Brazilian pediatrician and aid worker. A sister of Cardinal Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns, the former Archbishop of São Paulo known for his efforts against the Brazilian military dictatorship, Zilda Arns became internationally known by founding a Catholic pastoral care for poor children. Her humanitarian work, which also included the poor and the elderly, spanned over three decades.Arns died on January 12, 2010, as a result of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Five years after her death, the Archdiocese of São Paulo formally launched a diocesan investigation, opening the way to canonization and recognition of her status as a saint.

Photo of Oswaldo Cruz

3. Oswaldo Cruz (1872 - 1917)

With an HPI of 47.39, Oswaldo Cruz is the 3rd most famous Brazilian Physician.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz (Portuguese pronunciation: [ozˈvawdu ˈkɾus]; August 5, 1872 – February 11, 1917), was a Brazilian physician, pioneer bacteriologist, epidemiologist and public health officer and the founder of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute.He occupied the fifth chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1912 until his death in 1917.

Pantheon has 3 people classified as physicians born between 1872 and 1934. Of these 3, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased physicians include Carlos Chagas, Zilda Arns, and Oswaldo Cruz.

Deceased Physicians

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Which Physicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Physicians since 1700.