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Christian HahnemannGerman physician, founder of homeopathy
Date of Birth: 10.04.1755
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Biography of Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann
Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann was a German physician and the founder of homeopathy. He was born on April 10, 1755, in Saxony, in the city of Meissen. His mother provided him with initial schooling. At the age of 20, with twenty thalers in his pocket, Hahnemann went to Leipzig University, where he was supposed to support himself through tutoring and translating foreign languages.
On August 10, 1779, he defended his dissertation titled "On the Causes and Treatment of Spasmodic Diseases" and obtained a medical degree with the right to practice medicine. In 1781, he married Johanne Kuchler, the daughter of an apothecary in Dessau, and they had four daughters and one son together. Hahnemann decided to give up his medical practice and instead supported his family through various works in chemistry, pharmacy, and translations of medical texts in French, English, and Italian.
However, a decisive turn occurred in his life when his rejection of medicine was replaced by a new direction that revolutionized therapy. While translating an article on cinchona bark from Kullen's English guide, Hahnemann was struck by the contradictory medical actions and decided to test the substance's effects on his own healthy body. This led Hahnemann to delve back into medicine. He spent six years nurturing his idea, which had to mature and strengthen for its persuasive power.
He first publicized his teachings in the journal "Gufeland" and, in 1805, published the first experiments on the action of medicines in Latin, addressing the scientific community. Shortly after, an article in German titled "Heilkunde der Erfahrung" was published, marking the first mention of the word homeopathy. From 1811 to 1819, Hahnemann laid the foundation of homeopathy with his work "Reine Arsneimittellehre" (Pure Materia Medica) in six volumes, encompassing the results of his research on sixty-two medicines. Hahnemann's fame and the recognition of homeopathy continued to grow, greatly aided by the remarkable results he achieved in treating typhoid fever and cholera with his medicines, which are still effective against those diseases today.
In 1821, Duke Ferdinand summoned the renowned doctor as his court physician to Anhalt-Köthen, granting him complete freedom to practice medicine throughout the country. Hahnemann practiced in Paris for eight years, attracting doctors and patients from all over the world, thus spreading homeopathy worldwide. He passed away on July 2, 1843, at the age of 89, surrounded by the general respect and love of the society that surrounded him.