Jose María Vargas
President of Venezuela
In office 9 February 1835 – 9 July 1835
Preceded by	Andrés Narvarte
Succeeded by	José María Carreño
In office 20 August 1835 – 24 April 1836
Preceded by	José María Carreño
Succeeded by	Andrés Narvarte
Personal details
Born	(1786-03-10)10 March 1786 La Guaira, Venezuela
Died	13 July 1854(1854-07-13) (aged 68) New York City, United States
Spouse	Encarnación Maitín
Signature

José María Vargas Ponce (10 March 1786, in La Guaira – 13 April 1854, in New York City) was the president of Venezuela from 1835 to 1836. Vargas was Venezuela's first civilian president.

He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the Seminario Tridentino, and obtained in 1809 his medical degree from the Real y Pontificia Universidad de Caracas. Vargas was imprisoned in 1813 for revolutionary activities. Upon his release in 1813, he travelled to Europe for medical training.^[1] Vargas performed cataract surgery. He was one of the earliest oculists (eye surgeons) in Puerto Rico after his arrival there in 1817.^[1] He returned to Venezuela to practice medicine and surgery in 1825.^[1] He resigned from his presidency in 1836.

José María Vargas was married to Encarnación Maitín,^{[citation needed]} who served as First Lady of Venezuela from 1835 to 1836.^{[citation needed]} In 1877, his ashes were brought to Caracas and buried in the National Pantheon on 27 April of that same year.

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  Encarnación Maitín in 1827

The Venezuelan state of Vargas was named after him.

• (in Spanish) Doctor José María Vargas – Official biography.
• (in Spanish) José María Vargas
• José María Vargas at Find a Grave