Carl Wilhelm Heine (later von Heine) (26 April 1838, in

Cannstatt Bad Cannstatt (), also called Cannstatt (until July 23, 1933) or Kannstadt (until 1900), is one of the outer Stadtbezirke, or city boroughs, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous of Stuttgart' ...

– 9 September 1877, in Cannstatt) was a German physician, surgeon and President of the German medical fraternity of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Start of career and military service

Heine was the son of the German doctor and orthopaedist

Jakob Heine Jakob (or Jacob) Heine (April 16, 1800, Lauterbach, Black Forest, Holy Roman Empire – November 12, 1879, Cannstatt, Germany) was a German orthopaedist. He is most famous for his 1840 study into poliomyelitis, which was the first medical repo ...

, who became known as the discoverer of

Poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. He studied medicine in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

and

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

and received his doctor degree in 1861. After assisting his father in his orthopaedic institution he visited several European countries and stayed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He reported on his experiences in English hospitals in the 'Journal of the

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

ian Medical Association' ('Correspondenzblatt des Württembergischen Ärztlichen Vereins'). In 1864 he volunteered in the

Second war of Schleswig The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

as a military surgeon. He wrote about his experiences in military surgery in a book published in 1866. He was decorated for his merits both from the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n and the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n government.

Professor in Heidelberg und Innsbruck (1865–1873)

In 1864/65 Heine went to

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 ...

and worked with well-known physicians like

Rudolf Virchow Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow ( ; ; 13 October 18215 September 1902) was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician. He is known as "the father of modern pathology" and as the founder o ...

. The following year he was an assistant doctor in Heidelberg and qualified as professor. He succeeded his teacher Karl Otto Weber as professor and director of the surgical hospital. In 1869 Heine took up the job of director of the surgical hospital at the University of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

. In the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

Heine once more worked as a military surgeon and was highly decorated.

Head of Hospital and president of the doctors' fraternity in Prague (1873–1877)

Heine's successful work in Innsbruck induced the Austrian government to start a similar project in

. From 1873 onwards Heine established a second surgical hospital as an exemplary institute of European rank. At the same time he engaged in improving the hygienic situation and the water supply of the city. Heine was elected president of the German medical fraternity in January 1877. In 1876 he had become a citizen of

and was given a peerage. In the summer of 1877 he surprisingly came down with a diphtheritic angina and died at his parents' home in Cannstatt.

External links

illustrated biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heine, Carl Wilhelm German military doctors 1838 births 1877 deaths

Start of career and military service

Professor in Heidelberg und Innsbruck (1865–1873)

Head of Hospital and president of the doctors' fraternity in Prague (1873–1877)

Further reading (in German)

External links