José Curry da Câmara Cabral was one of the most prestigious Portuguese doctors, as well as a professor of medicine at the Lisbon Medical-Surgical School and one of the most famous researchers and professors in the area of medical sciences.
His name gained singular recognition due to the fact that he was the founder and patron of the Lisbon hospital that still bears his name today. This institution arose following his call for the erection of a hospital for tuberculosis and other patients suffering from infectious diseases. Popularly known as Hospital do Rego, it was built on the site where the Convent of the Converts of Our Lady of the Rosary (Convertidas de Nossa Senhora do Rosário) once stood.
The hospital was formally established in 1906, by initiative of the Hintze Ribeiro government. It was given its present name in 1929, in honour of its founder.
Of Azorean descent, he was the grandson of José Curry da Câmara Cabral, an illustrious Azorean capitalist and politician, born in the city of Horta on 12th December 1789. A businessman and landowner, his grandfather was a supporter of the liberal regime, having held the most important political positions in the context of the Faial island, namely Mayor of Horta, member of the District Council and the General Council.
It was due to his persistent intervention in defence of the interests of his land, that the district of Horta was created in 1836, which included the islands of Faial, Pico, Flores, and Corvo, and that the dock was built at the port of Horta, a fundamental claim for the development of the city, which came to fruition in 1864.
Curry Cabral died in 1920, in Lisbon, the same city where he was born, and was buried in the Prazeres Cemetery. Together with Sousa Martins, Manuel Bento de Sousa and Oliveira Feijão, he is considered one of the most illustrious figures of Portuguese medicine in the early 20th century.