António Egas Moniz
Portuguese politian and neurosurgeon (1874-1955)
António Caetano de Abreu Freire Egas Moniz (29 November 1874 – 13 December 1955), known as simply Egas Moniz, was a Portuguese neurologist and the developer of cerebral angiography. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern psychosurgery, having developed the surgical procedure leucotomy—better known today as lobotomy—for which he became the first Portuguese national to receive a Nobel Prize in 1949 (shared with Walter Rudolf Hess).
He held academic positions, wrote many medical articles and also served in several legislative and diplomatic posts in the Portuguese government. In 1911, he became professor of neurology in Lisbon until his retirement in 1944.
Early life and training
Moniz was born in Avanca, Estarreja, Portugal, as António Caetano de Abreu Freire de Resende. He attended Escola do Padre José Ramos and the Jesuit-run College of Saint Fidelis. Then he studied medicine at the University of Coimbra, graduating in 1899. For the next 12 years, he served as a lecturer for basic medical courses at Coimbra. In 1911, he became a neurology professor at the University of Lisbon, where he worked until his retirement in 1944.
His uncle and godfather, Father Caetano de Pina Resende Abreu e Sá Freire, convinced his family to change his surname to Egas Moniz since he was convinced that the Resende family was descended from medieval nobleman Egas Moniz o Aio.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “António Egas Moniz” is portuguese politian and neurosurgeon (1874-1955). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through António, Egas and Moniz, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “portuguese politian and neurosurgeon (1874-1955)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q273219. VIAF identifies the subject as 74247692. The Library of Congress control number is n84135483. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1874, 1955, 1949 and 1911.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “António Egas Moniz”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow António Egas Moniz primary sources, António Egas Moniz archive and António research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “António Egas Moniz”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “António Egas Moniz” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.