Johann Georg Mezger (August 22, 1838 – 3 March 1909) was a Dutch physician and masseur who is considered as one of the founders of physiotherapy and massage therapy.

Life and work

Mezger was born in Amsterdam to immigrants from Wurtemberg. He worked initially in his father's butcher shop while also training in gymnastics. He was influenced by the city orthopaedist

Justus Lodewijk Dusseau Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Gregory the Great sent Justus from Italy to England on a mission to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism; he probably a ...

(1824–1887) who noticed his talent and introduced him to Swedish medical gymnastics. He also encouraged Mezger to study medicine. Mezger then studied medicine at the University of Leiden where he used French friction methods on patients with distortions. His 1868 doctoral thesis was on ''distorsio pedis'' treated with friction. In 1870, a German newspaper reported successful treatment of an elderly woman who had been bedridden for years under his hands. There were accusations of charlatanism but he was defended by the surgeon Von Mosengeil. He also treated a son of

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

and he was appointed in 1870 for treatment of joint diseases and decorated as an officer of the

Order of the Oak Crown The Order of the Oak Crown (, , ) is an order (honour), order of the Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History The Order of the Oak Crown was established in 1841 by William II of the Netherlands, Grand Duke William II, who was also King o ...

. He then had many famous patients including

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...

, Lord

Lionel Walter Rothschild Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoology, zoologist, and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he wa ...

, and Chancellor

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

. He initially worked opposite the Amstel Hotel and later rented a larger house nearby. In 1875 he had a neo-classical mansion ''Nieuwendammerdijk'' built for his practice. In 1884 he moved to The Hague. In 1888 he moved to Wiesbaden, and then Paris. After his marriage he moved to Domburg where he had a villa built in 1887. With patients turning up, Domburg became a popular seaside spa resort.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mezger, Johann Georg 1838 births 1909 deaths Dutch physiotherapists