Helwig Dieterich Latinized as Helvicus Dietericus (24 June 1601 – 13 December 1655) was a German physician and chemist. He served as a physician to several members of royalty and nobility but earned notoriety after several of his cures were questionable and proved deadly.
Otto Tachenius wrote an
Apologia
An apologia (Latin for ''apology'', from , ) is a formal defense of an opinion, position or action. The term's current use, often in the context of religion, theology and philosophy, derives from Justin Martyr's '' First Apology'' (AD 155–157) ...
in 1652 in which he declared Dieterich as a ''pseudo-chimicum'' (false chemist) and a fraud.
Life and work
Dieterich was born in
Kyrtorf in
Hesse-Darmstadt
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgrave Philip I. ...
, son of the priest and theologian Johannes (1572–1635) and Barbara Reichard. His father later became a superintendent at
Giessen
Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...
where Dieterich went to study from 1615. After some studies in theology and language, he shifted to medicine and chemistry at Tübingen, then Altdorf and Wittenberg. At Tübingen he studied under Jacob Müller and at Altdorf he studied under Caspar Hoffmann. At Wittenberg he studied under Daniel Sennert. He travelled in Italy around 1625 and worked at Rüeber's Apotheke zum Löwen in Ulm with studies under the physician Sebastian Stromeier. He received a doctoral degree in 1627 at Strasbourg under J. R. Salzmann. The next year he became a physician to the
Landgrave Georg II of Hesse-Darmstadt and then to
Georg Wilhelm of Brandenburg. In 1633 he accompanied the Landgrave to Dresden to attend a meeting with
Johann Georg, Elector of Saxony. In 1638 he was called to treat Prince Christian whose leg had been injured by a carriage wheel running over it. The treatment with astringents and tight binding had caused gangrene and other complications. Dieterich stayed at
Nykjøbing Castle for a year but when the Elector died in 1640, it was said that Dieterich's cures may have hastened the death. He had made use of antimony and mercury in the treatments. He then worked for
Duke Frederik III of Holsten-Gottorp and then
King Christian IV
Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history.
A member of the H ...
who made him his physician. In 1652
Otto Tachenius claimed that Dieterich was a charlatan. Dieterich had apparently promised a treatment for the King consisting of
''Aurum potabile'' (gold tonic) and subsequently giving the king a fake medicine and stealing the gold for himself. Dieterich lost his position in 1646 after poor treatments.
References
External links
Novus Orbis In Quo, quaecunque de Nato Et Creato Serio Et Joco Sciri vel desiderari possunt, Inusitata Rerum Varietate Et Mira Elogiorum Jucunditate omnia proponuntur(1631)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dieterich, Helwig
1601 births
1655 deaths
Swedish apothecaries
17th-century German physicians