PORTUGALOV, BENJAMIN OSIPOVICH:
Russian physician and author; born at Poltava 1835; died at Samara 1896. After studying medicine at the universities of Kharkov and Kiev, he served for a time as army surgeon. He then settled in the government of Perm, where, however, he was not permitted to practise medicine. Portugalov therefore sought occupation in the field of literature. His first article ("Shadrinsk i Cherdyn") was published in the "Arkhiv Sudebnoi Meditziny"; his next contributions were to the "Dyelo" and "Nedyelya," mainly on hygienic subjects. At last an opportunity came to him to take up the practise of medicine; he was appointed city physician at Krasnoufimsk, in the government of Perm, thereafter becoming successively sanitary supervisor of two mining districts in the Ural Mountains and district physician (1870-1880) of Kamyshlova, Samara, etc. Portugalov devoted much of his time to philanthropic work, maintaining an especially active campaign against drunkenness. In his last years he expressed his sympathy with the New Israel movement then developing in Russia.
Portugalov's works include: "Voprosy Obshchestvennoi Gigiyeny" (1874); "Yevrei Reformatory" (St. Petersburg, 1882): "Znamenatelnyya Dwizhenniya v Yevreistvye" (ib. 1884).
- Entziklopedicheski Slovar, xxiv. 624.
