José María Vargas
José María Vargas Ponce was the President of Venezuela from 1835-1836.
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 Europe for medical training. Vargas performed cataract surgery. He was one of the earliest oculists in Puerto Rico after his arrival there in 1817. He returned to Venezuela to practice medicine and surgery in 1825. He resigned from his presidency in 1836.José María Vargas was married to Encarnación Maitín, who served as First Lady of Venezuela from 1835–1836.
In 1877, his ashes were brought to Caracas and buried in the National Pantheon on 27 April of that same year.
