author
Samuel Hahnemann
1755–1843
A German physician and prolific medical writer, he is best known for founding homeopathy after growing dissatisfied with many of the harsher treatments used in his day. His life moved from medicine and translation to a reforming medical theory that would become influential and controversial around the world.
1 Audiobook
Ueber die Arsenikvergiftung ihre Hülfe und gerichtliche Ausmittelung
by Samuel Hahnemann
About the author
Born in Meissen, Saxony, in 1755, Samuel Hahnemann studied medicine in Leipzig and Vienna and earned his M.D. from the University of Erlangen in 1779. He also worked extensively as a translator, and his wide reading in medicine and chemistry helped shape his independent cast of mind.
Hahnemann became uneasy with many standard medical practices of the late eighteenth century, including aggressive treatments he believed could harm patients. While reflecting on the effects of cinchona bark, he developed the idea that substances might treat symptoms similar to those they can produce, a principle that became the basis of homeopathy. He later set out his system in medical writings including the Organon of the Healing Art.
He spent parts of his career in several German cities before settling in Paris late in life, where he continued to practice. Hahnemann died there in 1843. His place in medical history remains notable because the system he created spread widely and continues to attract both devoted followers and strong criticism.