Finlay was born in a little town in Puerto Principe in Cuba. His father was a Scottish physician and his mother of French origin. They had come to Cuba via Trinidad and his father established a successful practice in medicine, especially in ophthalmology. Finlay started his medical studies at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia where he graduated in 1855. After spending one year with the neurologist Silas Weir Mitchell, he went to Paris and studied neurology and ophthalmology. In 1857 he began practising in Havana. He was a general practitioner but specialised in ophthalmology and soon became attracted …