author
Johann Ludwig Casper
1796–1864
A pioneering Berlin physician, he helped turn forensic medicine into a more systematic science. His writings on medico-legal investigation became influential well beyond nineteenth-century Germany.
2 Audiobooks
Gerichtliche Leichen-Oeffnungen. Zweites Hundert.
by Johann Ludwig Casper
Gerichtliche Leichen-Oeffnungen. Erstes Hundert.
by Johann Ludwig Casper
About the author
Born in Berlin on March 11, 1796, Johann Ludwig Casper first trained in pharmacy before turning to medicine. He studied in Berlin, Göttingen, and Halle, earned his doctorate in 1819, and went on to build a wide-ranging career as a physician, professor, and medical writer.
Casper is best remembered for his work in forensic medicine. He taught in Berlin and became known for bringing careful observation and pathology into legal investigations, helping to shape the practical methods used in medico-legal cases. He also founded an important journal devoted to forensic and public medicine, extending his influence beyond the lecture hall.
His interests reached across several medical fields, including pathology, pediatrics, and pharmacology, but his lasting reputation rests on his role as one of the major early figures in modern legal medicine. He died in Berlin on February 24, 1864.