Franz Gerhard Wegeler (22 August 1765 – 7 May 1848) was a German physician from

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, who, in his youth, was a close friend of composer

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

. He was the father of

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

Julius Stephan Wegeler (1807-1883). Wegeler studied medicine at the Universities of

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. After completing his studies in Austria, he returned to Bonn, where he became a tenured professor of legal medicine and

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

in 1789. In 1794, he fled Bonn during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, returning to

, where he renewed his friendship with Beethoven. After spending two years in Vienna, he again returned to Bonn as an instructor and a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

of medicine. In 1802, he married Eleonore von Breuning, the daughter of

Helene von Breuning Helene von Breuning (née von Kerich; 3 January 1750, Cologne, Germany, Cologne – 9 December 1838) was a member of the Bonn upper class, who engaged young Ludwig van Beethoven to teach music to her children, helped him with his education and int ...

. Eleonore was a former piano student and 'first love' of Beethoven. The marriage produced four children. The descendants include Helena Josepha Theresia (1803-1832) and Julius Stephan Wegeler (1807-1883). In 1807, Wegeler relocated to

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, where he joined the Prussian civil service and received several prestigious awards. Wegeler was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

; Beethoven corresponded with him on the subject of Beethoven's music (not

masonic music Masonic music has been defined as "music used in connection with the ritual and social functions of freemasonry." Two major types of music used in masonic lodges are lodge songs, played to keyboard accompaniment before or after meetings, or during ...

) being used in lodge ceremonies. Beethoven offered to compose a better piece than he had heard was being used. A distinguished physician, Wegeler is remembered for his 1838

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of Beethoven (''Biographische Notizen über Ludwig van Beethoven''), co-written with Beethoven's friend and pupil, composer

Ferdinand Ries Ferdinand Ries (baptised 28 November 1784 – 13 January 1838) was a German composer. Ries was a friend, pupil and secretary of Ludwig van Beethoven. He composed eight symphony, symphonies, a violin concerto, nine piano concertos (the first ...

(1784-1838) and published eleven years after Beethoven's death. Historians consider these memoirs to be an important and reliable source of information regarding the early life of the great composer. According to this memoir, Wegeler and Beethoven first met when they were respectively aged 17 and 12, leading

Andrew Crumey Andrew Crumey (born 1961) is a novelist and former literary editor of the Edinburgh newspaper ''Scotland on Sunday''. His works of literary fiction incorporate elements of speculative fiction, historical fiction, philosophical fiction and Menip ...

to suggest they were "brought together under Illuminist auspices – perhaps some educational event or programme to foster local talent."

References

* ''This article is based on a translation of an article from the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

.''

Beethoven and his Bonn Circle of Friends. Selected Objects from the Wegeler Collection German biographers German male biographers German obstetricians 18th-century German physicians 1765 births 1848 deaths University of Bonn alumni Academic staff of the University of Bonn German Freemasons 18th-century German male writers {{Germany-med-bio-stub