Hans Hoppeler

Born in Zurich on March 2, 1879, Hans Hoppeler trained as a physician at the University of Zurich, earning his medical doctorate in 1903. After further work in Berlin and New York, he returned to Zurich, where he practiced medicine and later became medical director of the Kinderheim Zürichberg.

Hoppeler also played a public role in Switzerland. He served as a member of the Swiss National Council from 1919 to 1939 and was associated with the Evangelical People's Party, where he was noted as its first and for many years only representative in the federal parliament.

Alongside his medical and political work, he wrote practical and educational books. He is especially remembered today for Woher die Kindlein kommen, a plainspoken book for children that tried to explain birth and human reproduction in an accessible way. That mix of doctor, educator, and civic voice gives his writing a distinctive historical interest.