Medical Doctor
The son of Paolo and Paulica née Brincato, Giuseppe De Marco was born in Cospicua. He was brother to Salvatore Felice*. At school he distinguished himself for his grasp of Latin, a language in which he was to write most of his works on medicine.
Following medical training in Malta, he proceeded to Montpellier for postgraduate studies in Respiratory Medicine under the direction of Francois de Sauvages. In 1743 he defended his thesis entitled Dissertatio physiologica de respiratione, ejusque uso primario. He dedicated this work to Grandmaster Pinto. In the same year he practised as a general practitioner in Senglea.
Back from Montpellier De Marco married Vincenza, and settled in Senglea as a general practitioner until 1764, and found time to write on several medical subjects.
In 1765 Dr G. Demarco was suspended for verbally harming the reputation of a colleague. These penalties of suspension of the medical licence was in force by 1640 in cases where the physician or surgeons neglected to report serious injuries and suspensions and he was also reported for minor offences.
De Marco wrote a number of treatises on various aspects of contemporary medicine, some published but a large majority remain in manuscript form. In these treatises, De Marco set out to systematically study respiratory disease and asthma, dermatological conditions, cardiac disorders, hepatic disease, and infective disorders such as rabies, fever, and plague.
Cholera engaged his attention in 1745, leprosy in 1764, and smallpox in 1763, 1769, and 1780. A Latin treatise on rabies remains in manuscript form.
His observations on these diseases are the earliest records on communicable diseases in Malta, which may therefore earn him the honour of the pioneer of epidemiology in Malta. His fame reached France, England, Italy, and Libya, where in 1788 he was sent by Grandmaster de Rohan, with whom he enjoyed good relationship and esteem, to cure Mustafa Pasha. He availed himself of this opportunity to investigate the ecology and types of illnesses in that part of North Africa, thus becoming one of the earliest investigators on medical topography.
De Marco died at Valletta and was buried in the family vault at Cospicua parish church.
This biography is part of the collection created by Michael Schiavone over a 30-year period. Read more about Schiavone and his initiative here.