Jean-Baptiste Charcot and Brazil

Abstract

Jean-Baptiste Charcot, a neurologist from the famous Salpêtrière school and a renowned maritime explorer, visited Brazil twice. The first visit was in 1903, when the first French Antarctic expedition, traveling aboard the ship Français, made a very short stopover in Recife, in the state of Pernambuco. The second took place in 1908, during the famous voyage of the Pourquoi Pas? to the Antarctic, when Charcot and his crew stayed in the city of Rio de Janeiro for eight days.Keywords: neurology, maritime, explorer, Antarctic, Brazil. RESUMO Jean-Baptiste Charcot, neurologista formado na famosa escola do hospital Salpêtrière, e famoso explorador marítimo, visitou o Brasil por duas vezes. A primeira em 1903, numa curta passagem, em Recife/Pernambuco, a bordo do navio Français, durante a primeira expedição francesa à antártica, e a segunda, em 1908, durante a famosa viagem do Pourquoi Pas? à Antártica, quando ele e sua tripulação permaneceram na cidade do Rio de Janeiro por oito dias.Palavras-chave: neurologia, explorador, marítimo, Antártica, Brasil.

Jean-Baptiste Charcot in Rio de Janeiro: glamorous trip and celebrity in 1908

“…Initially he decided to explore the polar regions, beginning with the Arctic Circle. After that he was enrolled as part of the project known as The French Antarctic Expedition, thus starting his activities as a maritime explorer of the South Pole 3,4 . The first expedition to the Antarctic polar ice cap took place in the years of 1903-1905, while the second expedition was on a ship nicknamed the "Pourquoi Pas?"…”

“…during the years 1908-1910 3,4 . At that time Jean-Baptiste Charcot had already gained an expressive worldwide reputation, becoming a true star, known throughout as Commander Charcot 3,4 . The aim of this paper is to make a historical account of Commander Jean-Baptiste Charcot' s eight-day stay in Rio de Janeiro in 1908.…”

“…As a matter of fact, Dom Pedro II invited Professor Charcot to come to Brazil several times, but unfortunately Professor Charcot declined them time and again 5,6 . Nevertheless, Professor Charcot' s son, the neurologist and maritime explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot, visited Brazil twice, the first time in 1903 during the first expedition to the Antarctic Polar ice cap, when he made a stopover at Recife, Pernambuco 3,4,7 . In fact, that was a very short stop to replenish the water supply before continuing on his journey to Buenos Aires.…”

“…The second time he visited Brazil was in 1908, during his second expedition to the Antarctic Polar ice cap, when both the captain and the crew of his ship, the aptly named "Pourquoi Pas? ", stayed for eight days in Rio de Janeiro 4,7 .…”

“…Regardless of his father's fame, Jean-Baptiste Charcot had made quite a name for himself as "Commander Charcot", a.k.a. the "Polar gentleman", the famous French maritime explorer of the Arctic and Antarctic Polar ice caps 3,4,7 . Commander Charcot and his crew's arrival in Rio was met with a mix of excitement, bewilderment and astonishment and the main periodicals of the time would describe the event in minute detail 8,9,10 .…”