Gregorio Chil y Naranjo

Gregorio Chil y Naranjo was born in Telde on 13 March 1831. He studied medicine in Paris between 1848 and 1858; El Museo Canario's documentation places his doctorate in 1857 and his return to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1860 to practise medicine.

At the same time he researched the history, prehistory and anthropology of the Canary Islands. In 1876 he began publishing Estudios históricos, climatológicos y patológicos de las Islas Canarias. In 1879 he promoted the creation of the Scientific Society El Museo Canario, which he directed until his death on 4 July 1901.

His legacy should not be reduced to an isolated figure: the institution preserves his documentary collection and explains how his work helped consolidate a centre for studying island history. His contributions belong to the history of science and museology of his period and should be read in that intellectual and methodological context.