Hermann Emminghaus (20 May 1845 – 17 February 1904) was a German

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

who was a native of

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

. He was a pioneer of

child A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

and adolescent psychology, and a founder of developmental

psychopathology Psychopathology is the study of mental illness. It includes the signs and symptoms of all mental disorders. The field includes Abnormal psychology, abnormal cognition, maladaptive behavior, and experiences which differ according to social norms ...

. He studied medicine at the Universities of

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

and

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

, obtaining his medical doctorate in 1869. Afterwards he was an assistant to Carl Gerhardt (1833-1902), who was director of the medical clinic in

. From 1874 to 1880 he worked at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

, where he was an assistant to Franz von Rinecker (1811-1883). In 1880 Emminghaus was appointed to the first chair of psychiatry at the

Imperial University of Dorpat The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

. When he left

Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

in 1886, his position was filled by

Emil Kraepelin Emil Wilhelm Georg Magnus Kraepelin (; ; 15 February 1856 – 7 October 1926) was a German psychiatrist. H. J. Eysenck's Encyclopedia of Psychology identifies him as the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychiatric ...

(1856-1926).Emil Wilhelm Magnus Georg Kraepelin
at

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...

In 1886 Emminghaus became a professor of psychiatry at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

, where he instituted a new regimen of treatment for mental patients, including a "no-restraint policy". His best known written works are a book on general

called ''Allgemeine Psychopathologie zur Einführung in das Studium der Geistesstörungen'', and a publication on childhood

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

titled ''Die psychischen Störungen des Kindesalters''. Since 1984 the "Hermann Emminghaus Prize" is awarded every two years in recognition of outstanding scientific work performed in the fields of child and adolescent psychiatry.

Selected writings

* ''Über hysterisches Irresein: Ein Beitrag zur Pathogenese der Geisteskrankheiten'' (dissertation University of Jena) 1870.-- On hysterical madness: a contribution to the pathogenesis of mental diseases. * ''Allgemeine Psychopathologie zur Einführung in das Studium der Geistesstörungen'', 1878.-- General

as an introduction to the study of mental disorders. * ''Über den Werth des klinischen Unterrichts in der Psychiatrie'', Dorpat 1881.-- On the value of clinical training in psychiatry. * ''Die psychischen Störungen des Kindesalters'' in: Gerhardt's "Handbuch der Kinderkrankheiten", Bd. VIII, Tübingen 1887, – Mental disorders of childhood.

References

Hermann Eminghaus Preis Web Page
(translated biography)

at Deutsche Biographie. * "Published works copied from the equivalent article at 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 ...

". German psychiatrists Physicians from Weimar 1845 births 1904 deaths Academic staff of the University of Freiburg Academic staff of the University of Tartu {{Germany-psychiatrist-stub