Maximilian Joseph von Chelius (16 January 1794 – 17 August 1876) was a German

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

born in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

. Chelius received his medical doctorate in 1812 at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

, and afterwards worked as both a civilian and military physician in

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 ...

. He was an army surgeon in the last phases of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

(1814-15). In 1817 he became an associate professor of surgery 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 ...

, where soon afterwards he gained a full professorship (1819). He was a catalyst in the development of the medical faculty at the

, being considered the founder of the surgical tradition at the facility. Chelius specialized in the field of ophthalmic surgery. One of his better-known patients was

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

, whom Chelius treated for

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

of the

finger A finger is a prominent digit (anatomy), digit on the forelimbs of most tetrapod vertebrate animals, especially those with prehensile extremities (i.e. hands) such as humans and other primates. Most tetrapods have five digits (dactyly, pentadact ...

. Afterwards, a grateful Chopin gave a private concert in Chelius' home. Today, the building where Chelius lived from 1830 until 1876 is the site of the

Kurpfälzisches Museum The Kurpfälzisches Museum (Palatinate Museum) is a museum of art and archaeology in Heidelberg, Germany. It is located in the Palais Morass. It was founded in the late 1870s, when the city of Heidelberg purchased the private collection of the ...

in Heidelberg. His grandson, Oskar von Chelius, was a composer and

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

general 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 ...

He is also the 4th great-grandfather of the current

King of the Netherlands The monarchy of the Netherlands is governed by the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, country's charter and Constitution of the Netherlands, constitution, roughly a third of which explains the mechanics of succession, accession, and a ...

Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...

through his son, Franz.

Selected writings

* ''Handbuch der Chirurgie: zu dem Gebrauche bei seinen Vorlesungen'' (Manual of surgery, derived from lectures); 1822 * ''Zur Lehre von den Staphylomen des Auges'' (Lesson on

staphyloma A staphyloma is an abnormal protrusion of the uveal tissue through a weak point in the human eye, eyeball. The protrusion is generally black in colour, due to the inner layers of the eye. It occurs due to weakening of outer layer of eye (cornea or ...

of the eye) * ''Handbuch der Augenheilkunde: zu dem Gebrauche bei seinen Vorlesungen'' (Manual of ophthalmology, derived from lectures); 1844 * ''Über die durchsichtige Hornhaut des Auges, ihre Function und ihre krankhaften Veränderungen'' - On the transparent

cornea The cornea is the transparency (optics), transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the Iris (anatomy), iris, pupil, and Anterior chamber of eyeball, anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and Lens (anatomy), lens, the cornea ...

of the eye, its function and pathological changes.

References

* This article is based on a translation of an 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 ...

, whose sources includ
ADB: Chelius, Maximilian Joseph von
@

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

.
Surgical Professors at the University of Heidelberg
* Die Ahnen Claus Georg von Amsberg, Limburg a.d. Lahn, 1966, Euler, F. W. * Ancestor list HRH Claus Prince of the Netherlands, 1999 and 2003, Verheecke, José

External links

* German ophthalmologists 1794 births 1876 deaths German surgeons Academic staff of Heidelberg University Physicians from Mannheim 19th-century German physicians {{Germany-med-bio-stub