Ignacio Ponseti

Ignacio Ponseti

Ignacio Ponseti Vives was born June 3, 1914, on the island of Menorca, Spain. His father was Miguel Ponseti Bibiloni, he was a watchmaker, and Ignacio recalls helping his dad in his shop when he was young. His mother was Margarita Vives Fedelich. Ponseti has two siblings, a brother and sister. In his early years of life, Ignacio was interested in the sciences, especially biology, and envisioned himself becoming a physician. His favorite hobby was go to the mountains of Barcelona- the city that he grow up- and collect wild fauna from the region to classified then according their species. Ignacio was awarded with a scholarship to the University of Barcelona, he completed his undergraduate degree and then his medical studies by the age of 22.

Ignacio graduated in 1936 from the University of Barcelona Medical School, the day before the war broke out when the Monarchy of Spain was taken down from the throne. Due all these political conflicts Ignacio was required to serve in the Spanish army. Ignacio later said that working along Jimeno Vidal during the war was a great experience for his professional development. Both men improved the treatment and care of orthopedic wounds within the soldiers. In the last year of service, Ignacio served as a captain during the Spanish Civil War, and found himself working with recognized surgeons such as Dr. Gonzalez Aguilar and Aldolfo Ley. As a medic for the army he treated more than 2,000 orthopedic wounds of soldiers from the doomed Republican Army.

At the end of the war in Spain, with victory by the fascists, Ignacio left Spain, losing his Spanish citizenship. In February 1939 Ignacio Ponseti arrived in France and spent about six months there. During this six months he worked at Caserna de Marausant nearby Beziers with Dr. Dari Huguet and Dr. Jose Puig Guri. After this short time in France Ponseti decide to relocated in Mexico, which was recruiting talented people - especially physicians - who had left Spain. After two years living in Mexico Ignacio Ponseti became a citizen. In 1941 Ponseti came to Iowa to obtain his residency at the University of Iowa, and studied under Dr. Arthur Steindler, chairman of the Department of Orthopedics. During Pearl Harbor war a big number of physicians and residents were mobilized to war zone. Ignacio was one of the few doctor that stayed, so his hours of hours increase substantially. In the summer of 1943, Ignacio attended the University of Chicago to complete a residence in Pathology. Ignacio has mentioned that during his studies of Pathology he discover the importance of the geography in medicine. He made remarks in one particular case, a Greek man with a lung injury. These injuries are common in the Mediterranean, where he started his medical profession. At the end of his residence he returned to Iowa. Living in Iowa was a pleasant experience for Ponseti and he once said "I liked the place." "I like Iowa," "I like the people here. They are very responsible and honest." He was offered the opportunity to conduct research in a university laboratory, and he liked Iowa's stable population that allowed extensive follow-up research.

Despite his thoughts of returning to Spain to live there, he soon felt at home in Iowa. Ignacio Ponseti became a

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