Johann Friedrich Schweitzer or Sweitzer, usually known as Helvetius (; January 17, 1630 – August 29, 1709), was a Dutch physician and

alchemical Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

writer of German extraction. He is known for his books ''Ichts aus Nichts, für alle Begierigen der Natur'' published in 1655, ''Vitulus Aureus'' (The Golden Calf), published in 1667 under the pseudonym Joakim Philander, and ''Miraculo transmutandi Metallica'', Antwerp, 1667. Helvetius was born or baptized 17 January 1630 in

Köthen (Anhalt) Köthen () is a town in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about north of Halle. Köthen is the location of the main campus and the administrative centre of the regional university, Anhalt Unive ...

Dr. Johannes Fredericus Schweitzer
at http://geneagraphie.com as the son of the jurist Balthazar Sweitzer (Schweitzer, Helvety of Helvetius) and Anna Braunin.C. de Waal
Helvetius, Johan Frederik
in Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek Vol 3 (1914) He arrived in 1649 in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

, where he obtained a degree at the

University of Harderwijk The University of Harderwijk (1648–1811), also named the ''Guelders Academy'' (), was located in the city of Harderwijk, in the Republic of the United Provinces (now: the Netherlands). It was founded by the province of Guelders (Gelre). Hist ...

in 1656 with a dissertation ''de Peste''. He first lived in Amsterdam, but subsequently moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, where he became a physician to the Prince of Orange-Nassau (later to be

William III of England 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 County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

).Helvetius (Joannes Fridericus)
in Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden, vol 8, (1867), pp. 509-512 He wrote numerous books on herbs and medicine in Dutch, German, and Latin. He is notorious for the story that he actually carried out transmutation of lead into gold. He is said to have known

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

. Helvetius married Johanna Pels (1643–1709) in July 1658 in The Hague. They had 16 children, including Adriaan Helvetius (1662–1727), who introduced the use of

ipecac Syrup of ipecac (), or simply ipecac, is a drug that was once widely used as an expectorant (in low doses) and a rapid-acting emetic (in higher doses). It is obtained from the dried rhizome and roots of the ipecacuanha plant ('' Carapichea ipe ...

in his position at the French court and was the father of another

court physician A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts genera ...

, Jean-Claude-Adrien Helvétius (1685–1755). The philosopher Claude-Adrien Helvétius (1715–1771) was a son of the latter.Ipecac
at herbs2000.com. Helvetius died 29 August 1709 in The Hague.

Notes

References

Arthur Edward Waite Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was a British poet and scholarly Mysticism, mystic who wrote extensively on occult and Western esotericism, esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite Tarot (also called th ...

, ''John Frederick Helvetius: The Famous Alchemist''

External links

*
''The Golden Calf, Which the World Adores, and Desires''
at Project Gutenberg {{DEFAULTSORT:Schweizer, Johann Friedrich 1630 births 1709 deaths People from Köthen (Anhalt) People from Anhalt-Köthen Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire to the Dutch Republic 17th-century Dutch physicians Dutch alchemists 17th-century alchemists 18th-century alchemists University of Harderwijk alumni