Casal Julian, Gaspar R. F. N.

1. Dates

Born: 31 Dec 1680

Died: 10 Aug 1759

Dateinfo: Dates Certain

Lifespan: 79

2. Father

Occupation: No Information

No information on financial status.

3. Nationality

Birth: Spanish

Career: Spanish

Death: Spanish

4. Education

Schooling: Siguenza

Somewhat late (1713) he earned a B.A. from the Univ. of Siguenza.

There is no record of his study of medicine at a university. Lopez Pineiro says that he did earn an M.D. Canella appears to think he had to have one for the positions he held, but has no evidence. Otherwise authorities seem agreed that he learned medicine by apprenticeship to an apothecary.

5. Religion

Affiliation: Catholic

6. Scientific Disciplines

Primary: Medicine

Subordinate: Natural History

Casal Julian wrote a natural and medical history of Asturias, a major work.

7. Means of Support

Primary: Medical Practice

Secondary: Governmental Position, Patronage

After his B.A., Casal Julian practiced successfully in Madrid until 1717, including members of the court in his practice.

He left for Oviedo, Asturias, in 1717 because Madrid did not agree with him. In Oviedo he built a great reputation.

In 1720, the Duke of Parque secured his appointment as the city's physician. Later he was physician to local hospitals.

Returned to Madrid in 1752 as physician to the Chamber of Ferdinand VI (i.e, physician to the court). He received a salary of 60,000 reals. He was appointed Protomedico of Castile. (I gather from Canella that there was a board of three Protomedicos who licensed physicians in the province.)

8. Patronage

Types: Court And Aristocracy

9. Technological Involvement

Type: Medical Practice

10. Scientific Societies

Membership: Medical College

Member of the Royal Academy of Medicine.

Sources

1. Jose Maria Lopez Pinero, Ciencia y tecnica en la sociedad espanola de los siglos XVI y XVII, (Barcelona: Labor, 1979).
2. José Maria Lopez Piñero, et al., Diccionaria historico de la ciencia moderna en España, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Ediciones Peninsula, 1983). Ralph Major, "Don Gaspar Casal . . . ," Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 16 (1944), 351-61.
3. Fermia Canella, biographical introduction to Casal Julian, Historia natural y medica del principada de Asturias, (Ovieda, 1900--republished in 1959). By all accounts, this is the leading authority on Casal Julian. Note after reading Canella: well over half of it is devoted to speculations about his medical degree. It is not really much.

Compiled by:

Richard S. Westfall

Department of History and Philosophy of Science

Indiana University

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