Philipp Phoebus (23 May 1804, Märkisch-Friedland in

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

– 1 July 1880,

Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...

) was a German physician and

pharmacologist Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemic ...

. He studied medicine at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

, obtaining his doctorate in 1827. Afterwards he continued his education in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

with

Johann Lukas Schönlein Johann Lukas Schönlein (30 November 1793 – 23 January 1864) was a German naturalist, and professor of medicine, born in Bamberg. He studied medicine at Landshut, Jena, Göttingen, and Würzburg. After teaching at Würzburg and Zurich, he was ...

(1793-1864) and Karl Friedrich Heusinger (1792-1883), in Paris under

Pierre Charles Alexandre Louis Pierre-Charles-Alexandre Louis (14 April 178722 August 1872) was a French physician, clinician and pathologist known for his studies on tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and pneumonia, but Louis's greatest contribution to medicine was the development o ...

(1787-1872) and at Strasbourg, where he focused on anatomical studies. Following travels in Switzerland and northern Italy, he returned to Berlin, where in 1832 he became

privat-docent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...

for normal and

pathological anatomy Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination o ...

His interests soon turned to pharmacology. In 1835 he relocated to Stolberg, where along with a medical practice, he conducted pharmacological and

toxicological Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...

research. In 1843 he was appointed chair of pharmacology at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

, a position he held until health reasons forced an early retirement in 1865. Phoebus was one of the 56 founding members of the Freies Deutsches Hochstift (Free German Foundation) in 1859. During his later years he worked hard for reforms within the pharmacy system. He was an advocate for the training and employment of female pharmacy assistants, and believed in an academic qualification of pharmacists. He also strove (unsuccessfully) for the creation of an international "Pharmacopoeia Europaea".

Selected writings

* ''Ueber den Leichenbefund bei der orientalischen Cholera'', 1833. * ''Handbuch der Arzneiverordnungslehre'', 1836. * ''Abbildung und Beschreibung der in Deutschland wildwachsenden und in Gärten im Freien ausdauernden Giftgewächse'', 1838 (with Johann Friedrich von Brandt (1802-1879) and

Julius Theodor Christian Ratzeburg Julius Theodor Christian Ratzeburg (16 February 1801– 24 October 1871) was a German zoologist, botanist, entomologist, and forester. Biography Ratzeburg was born in Berlin, the son of a professor at the veterinary school of the University o ...

(1801-1871). * ''Der typische frühsommer-katarrh, oder Das sogenannte heufieber, heu-asthma'', 1862.WorldCat Identities
(publications)

References

biography of Philipp Phoebus
@ Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie {{DEFAULTSORT:Phoebus, Philipp 1804 births 1880 deaths People from Mirosławiec People from West Prussia Academic staff of the University of Giessen German pharmacologists Founding members of the Freies Deutsches Hochstift