author
Samuel Hahnemann
1755–1843
A restless 18th-century physician and gifted linguist, he became famous for developing homeopathy after growing dissatisfied with the medical practices of his day.
1 Audiobook
Ueber die Arsenikvergiftung ihre Hülfe und gerichtliche Ausmittelung
by Samuel Hahnemann
About the author
Born in Meissen, Saxony, in 1755, he studied medicine in Leipzig and Vienna and earned his M.D. from the University of Erlangen in 1779. Alongside his medical work, he supported himself through translation and scholarship, building a reputation as a careful reader and independent thinker.
He is best known for creating homeopathy, a system he developed in the late 18th century around the idea that a substance causing symptoms in a healthy person might, in very small doses, be used to treat similar symptoms in someone who is ill. He set out these ideas in writings including the Organon of the Healing Art, and his work made him one of the most discussed medical reformers of his era.
Later in life he lived in several German cities before moving to Paris, where he continued to practice until his death in 1843. Whether remembered as a medical innovator, a controversial reformer, or both, he remains a major historical figure in the story of alternative medicine.