Leopold Bettelheim (, ; 23 February 1777, Galgócz – 9 April 1838) was a Hungarian

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. He was not only eminent in his profession, but was considered a

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

of some importance. He lived in Galgócz (, today

Hlohovec Hlohovec (, Hungarian ''Galgóc''), is a town in southwestern Slovakia, with a population of 21,508. Name The name comes from ''*Glogovec'', the Old Slavic name for a place densely overgrown by hawthorn. The Hungarian form ''Galgóc'' was ado ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

) next to the river Vág () and there held the responsible office of physician-in-ordinary to Count Joseph Erdödy, the influential court chancellor of Hungary, in whose private residence are still preserved the surgical instruments used by Bettelheim in saving the lives of the count and his family, together with documents recording some remarkable cures effected by him. In 1830 Bettelheim was the recipient of a gold medal of honor from the emperor Francis I for distinguished services to the royal family and to the nobility.

References

18th-century Hungarian people Hungarian Jews 19th-century Hungarian physicians People from Hlohovec 1777 births 1838 deaths Court physicians Hungarian courtiers Physicians from the Austrian Empire {{Hungary-med-bio-stub