Francisco Hernández de Toledo
Francisco Hernández de Toledo (c. 1515 – 28 January 1587) was a naturalist and court physician to Philip II of Spain. He was among the first wave of Spanish Renaissance physicians practicing according to the revived principles formulated by Hippocrates, Galen and Avicenna.
Francisco Hernández | |
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Cover of the book "Four books of nature and virtues of plants and animals" by Francisco Hernandez written in Latin, and translated into Spanish by Francisco Ximenez in 1615. | |
| Born | Bruno de Heceta y Dudagoitia c. 1515 La Puebla de Montalbán, Province of Toledo Spain |
| Died | 28 January 1587 Madrid, Spain |
| Occupation(s) | physician, naturalist |
Francisco Hernández was born at La Puebla de Montalbán in the Province of Toledo, probably around 1515. Nothing is known of his parents or other family. His original surname was Fernando which he changed to Hernando in 1570 and then changed again to Hernández, the name he used until his death in 1587.
In 1530 he began to study medicine at the University of Alcalá and received a bachelor's degree in 1536. After graduation, Hernández served as physician to the Duke of Maqueda in Toledo and later practiced medicine in Seville where he married Juana Díaz with whom he had two children, Juan Hernández and María of Sotomayor.
From 1556 to 1560 Hernández served as a physician at the Hospital y Monasterio de Guadalupe in Extremadura, where he managed the botanical garden and took part in the anatomical dissections with Francisco Miró. In 1560 he moved to Toledo and for a short time practiced medicine at the Hospital de la Santa Cruz. While in Toledo, he travelled frequently to the royal court in Madrid where he became acquainted with the noted anatomist, Andreas Vesalius. During this time, Hernández also became a prolific writer, penning commentaries on Galen and Hippocrates, and undertaking an ambitious translation of Pliny's Natural History.
In 1567 Hernández became a personal physician to King Philip II.