José María de los Dolores Vargas Ponce

Life & Legacy

José María Vargas Ponce (10 March 1786 – 13 April 1854) was the president of Venezuela from 1835 to 1836. He was elected in the 1834 Venezuelan presidential election, the first free and fair elections in South America. He defeated the candidate supported by the incumbent president. Vargas was Venezuela's first civilian president.
He was overthrown in 1835, returned to office, and resigned in 1836 amid pressure.
He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the Seminario Tridentino, and obtained in 1809 his medical degree from the Real y Pontificia Universidad de Caracas. Vargas was imprisoned in 1813 for revolutionary activities. Upon his release in 1813, he travelled to United Kingdom for medical training. Vargas performed cataract surgery. He was one of the earliest oculists (eye surgeons) in Puerto Rico after his arrival there in 1817. He returned to Venezuela to practice medicine and surgery in 1825.