Carl Spengler (30 June 186015 September 1937) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

surgeon,

pulmonologist Pulmonology (, , from Latin ''pulmō, -ōnis'' "lung" and the Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language fam ...

and

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology— a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

. He founded what is probably the oldest international ice hockey tournament, the

Spengler Cup The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss team ...

Career

Spengler's father Alexander Spengler was the discoverer of the healing effects of the high altitude climate of Davos. Carl Spengler was probably the first person to try

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

in the Alps. His father Alexander Spengler was given a pair of Sami hunting skis by a Nordic patient in 1873. He presented his experience with thoracoplasty surgery on tuberculosis patients in a lecture in Davos in 1890. He was one of the first to use this method. Spengler worked for a time as an researcher in immunology with

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( ; ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera and anthrax, he i ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Back in Davos, he published over 70 scientific papers, many of which dealt with the fight against

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and other plagues. He was a tireless researcher of

evidence-based Evidence-based practice is the idea that occupational practices ought to be based on scientific evidence. The movement towards evidence-based practices attempts to encourage and, in some instances, require professionals and other decision-makers ...

medicine. obituary by R.T. Hewlett, Nature, November 6, 1937 p. 797. https://doi.org/10.1038/140797b0

Personal life

Spengler promoted the then new sport of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

when in 1921 his son Alexander K. Spengler founded the

HC Davos Hockey Club Davos is a professional Swiss ice hockey club based in Davos, Switzerland. Davos plays in the National League (NL). It is generally referred to by its abbreviation "HCD" by the fans. The team is usually a strong force in the league a ...

with his mates. In 1923, he founded the famous

. He wanted to offer the once hostile nations of Europe the opportunity to measure their strength in peaceful combat and to shake hands in a spirit of comradeship.

References

Spengler, Carl
Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (German Language) {{DEFAULTSORT:Spengler, Carl Swiss pulmonologists 1860 births 1937 deaths Tuberculosis researchers People from Davos Spengler Cup Swiss ice hockey people