author
R. A. (Rudolph August) Witthaus
1846–1915
A pioneering American toxicologist and physician, he became one of the country's best-known experts on poisons and legal medicine. His work brought chemistry into the courtroom at a time when forensic science was still taking shape.
1 Audiobook
Medical Jurisprudence, Forensic medicine and Toxicology. Vol. 1
by R. A. (Rudolph August) Witthaus, Tracy C. (Tracy Chatfield) Becker
About the author
Born in New York City in 1846, Rudolph August Witthaus built a career that crossed medicine, chemistry, and public service. He studied at Columbia University and later earned his medical degree from New York University, then continued his training in Paris.
Witthaus went on to teach chemistry and toxicology at several institutions, including the University of Vermont, the University at Buffalo, and Cornell's medical college in New York. He wrote widely used scientific and medical texts, especially on chemistry, toxicology, and legal medicine, helping make technical subjects more practical for students, physicians, and lawyers.
He was especially noted as an expert witness in poisoning cases and became a leading American authority on forensic toxicology. That mix of laboratory science, teaching, and courtroom work gave him an unusual public profile for a medical scholar of his era.