Franz Hamburger (14 August 1874 in Pitten – 29 August 1954 in Vöcklabruck) was an

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 medical doctor and university lecturer.

Biography

Hamburger attended high school in Wiener Neustadt, and studied medicine at Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

. In Heidelberg in 1892 he was a member of the Corps Rhenania. In 1898 he passed the state medical examination for qualification as a doctor. After gaining his doctorate in medicine he became a ship's doctor, then worked as a doctor in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

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. ...

and Graz. Following specialist training as a pediatrician, he graduated in 1900 with Theodor Escherich. In 1906 he completed his habilitation thesis and worked as a lecturer. From 1914 to 1917 he fought in Serbia and Italy during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1916 he became a full professor of pediatrics at the University of Graz. After the death of Clemens von Pirquet in 1930 he was invited to the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, where he became Director of the Pediatric Clinic. One of his staff was

Hans Asperger Johann Friedrich Karl Asperger (, ; 18 February 1906 – 21 October 1980) was an Austrian physician. Noted for his early studies on atypical neurology, specifically in children, he is the namesake of the former autism spectrum disorder Asperger ...

, the Austrian pediatrician and pioneer in the study of

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

. In later years, Asperger spoke of Hamburger with great admiration as a man of impressive skill, and said that his teaching had been of immense influence upon his career. He joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

in 1934, at a time when it was still banned by the Austrofascist dictatorship of

Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuss (alternatively Dollfuß; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian politician and dictator who served as chancellor of Federal State of Austria, Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and ...

. In 1944 he retired, but remained as manager of the children's ward at the hospital in Vöcklabruck.

Works

* ''Kinderheilkunde, lehrbuch für Ärzte und Studenten'' (1920)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamburger, Franz 20th-century Austrian physicians Academic staff of the University of Graz Academic staff of the University of Vienna Austrian pediatricians 1874 births 1954 deaths Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Physicians from Austria-Hungary Austrian lecturers