Júlio Ximenes Sênior was a Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian scientist

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

 and medical doctor, in the research field of biochemistry

Biochemistry

Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...

, microbiology

Microbiology

Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...

, and was also a career Brazilian Army

Brazilian Army

The Brazilian Army is the land arm of the Brazilian Military. The Brazilian Army has fought in several international conflicts, mostly in South America and during the 19th century, such as the Brazilian War of Independence , Argentina-Brazil War , War of the Farrapos , Platine War , Uruguayan War ...

 officer.

He attained the rank of Brigadier-General during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He had also served as a Captain in São Paulo

São Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 during the Revolution of 1930-1932, which ultimately brought twice-Brazilian President, Getúlio Vargas

Getúlio Vargas

Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...

, into power for the first time. Dr. Ximenes sustained injuries in these conflicts, and was decorated for bravery under fire.

During his military life, he and his family were relocated all over Brazil, including to very remote military outposts of the Amazon

Amazon Basin

The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...

, and Mato Grosso

Mato Grosso

Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...

 do Sul. He was later permanently transferred to Rio de Janeiro, then capital of Brazil, where his family were amongst the first inhabitants of a burgeoning Copacabana, the legendary Carioca

Carioca

Carioca is a Portuguese adjective or demonym that is used to refer to the native inhabitants of the city of Rio de Janeiro - capital of the homonym state , in Brazil...

 beach.

He served as Requistioner-General of the Brazilian Army, a position requiring tact, as well as honesty, as pharmaceutical companies were insistent that their stock be chosen over the other.

In fact, President Vargas once said of the General

Military ranks of Brazil

This article presents the insignia and ranks of the Brazilian military. These ranks originate from those adopted upon Brazil's independence from Portugal in 1822. Nowadays they are defined by Act no. 6880 of December 9, 1980...

, "Ximenes is a rare Brazilian: a completely incorruptible man."

In 1957, having combed the archives of several countries for almost a decade, he wrote Béchamp versus Pasteur, a Portuguese-language monograph on Antoine Béchamp

Antoine Béchamp

Pierre Jacques Antoine Béchamp was a French biologist. He studied silkworm parasites, and was the first to synthesise Atoxyl.-Biography:...

's battles with arch-rival, Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...

 on the topic of germ theory (specifically, pleomorphic theory). He later published in 1960 a French-language version, Béchamp contre Pasteur, which received numerous citations in France, including towards the end of his life, a Palmes Academiques

Palmes académiques

The Ordre des Palmes Académiques is an Order of Chivalry of France for academics and cultural and educational figures...

 from the French government in recognition of his distinguished services in the field of scientific research.

The English-language edition was published in 1963, entitled Béchamp against Pasteur (Their Ideas And Their Fights), and notably all 3 editions were written and translated by the author himself (he credited his daughter with help in the English version, though he was fluent in English).

He is buried in famed Rio de Janeiro cemetery, Cemitério São João Batista

Cemitério São João Batista

Cemitério São João Batista is a private cemetery in the neighborhood of Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro owned and operated by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Rio de Janeiro a charitable organization with a Catholic identity founded by the Portuguese]] in Rio during the colonial era...

, which has been referred to as the Brazilian Père Lachaise. His grave is located a few yards away from his renowned contemporary, the Hollywood actress, Carmen Miranda

Carmen Miranda

Carmen Miranda, GCIH was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was, by some accounts, the highest-earning woman in the United States and noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's...

, and where fellow Franco-Brazilian pioneer aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont

Alberto Santos-Dumont

Alberto Santos-Dumont , was a Brazilian early pioneer of aviation. The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos Dumont dedicated himself to science studies in Paris, France, where he spent most of his adult life....

, is also buried.

His son is a practicing medical doctor in the United States.