Froilano de Mello

Indalencio Pascoal Froilano de Mello (17 May 1887 – 9 January 1955) was a Goan microbiologist, medical scientist, professor, author and an independent MP in the Portuguese parliament. During his scientific career, Mello was responsible for the discovery of thousands of protozoa, parasites and microbes which today bear the Latin names given by him, followed by his own surname. He served as mayor of Panjim from 1938–1945. During his tenure as an MP from 1945–1949, he represented the constituency of Portuguese India, namely its overseas provinces of Goa, Daman and Diu in the National Assembly at Lisbon. Froilano de Mello was born in Benaulim, Salcette to Goan Catholic parents. He was the eldest son of the lawyer Constâncio Francisco de Mello, and Delfina Rodrigues, the daughter of Dr. Raimundo Venâncio Rodrigues. Rodrigues was the mayor of Coimbra, member of the Cortes Gerais in Portugal and one of the first directors of Goa Medical College (then known as the Escola Medico–Cirurgica de Goa). Constâncio died when he was twelve, adversely affected the Mello family's fortunes, and brought about difficult times for the entire family. The income generated from the family properties managed by the caretaker was insufficient to meet the family's needs and consequently, the young Froilano had to work while he studied. He graduated in Panjim as a medical doctor, and later repeated the course at Porto, Portugal. In 1910, he returned to Goa with an additional diploma in Tropical medicine of the University of Lisbon. Mello's academic career got a start in 1910, at the age of 23, when he was appointed as a professor at the prestigious Goa Medical College. From 1913–14, he served as an assistant professor at the University of Sorbonne in Paris, and was a visiting professor at the University of Porto in 1921. Mello was promoted to the post of director of the Goa Medical College's Bacteriological institute, a small shed in Campal which would serve as the center of his scientific research from 1914–1945.