Albert Popper ( cs, Vojtěch Popper;

Hebrew name A Hebrew name is a name of Hebrew origin. In a more narrow meaning, it is a name used by Jews only in a religious context and different from an individual's secular name for everyday use. Names with Hebrew origins, especially those from the H ...

: ''

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

''; 1808 – 3 September 1889) was a mayor of Vimperk (Winterberg) and doctor for the

House of Schwarzenberg The House of Schwarzenberg is a German ( Franconian) and Czech ( Bohemian) aristocratic family, and it was one of the most prominent European noble houses. The Schwarzenbergs are members of the German nobility and Czech nobility and they held the ...

. Popper was born in the village of Bresnitz (Březnice) to a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish family. At the time of his birth the number of Jewish families in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

was strictly controlled by the Familianten quota system, which was partially abolished in 1848 and fully abolished in 1859. In addition to the government control of Jewish procreation, during most of Popper's life Jews were prohibited from owning property, choosing their place of domicile, attending public schools, or holding public office. This situation did not change until late in Albert Popper's life with the reforms of 1867 in the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

portion of the

dual monarchy Dual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other, and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing. The term is typically used ...

. Popper, nevertheless, was able to gain permission to attend the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, where he earned his doctorate in

Pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

in 1835.''Abstract of Albert Popper's 1835 Doctoral Dissertation''
/ref> He went on to earn his medical degree and settled in Vimperk where he established a pharmacy and served as the official doctor to the Schwarzenberg princes. In 1841, Popper published a treatment for Chlorosis (

Hypochromic anemia Hypochromic anemia is a generic term for any type of anemia in which the red blood cells are paler than normal. (''Hypo''- refers to ''less'', and ''chromic'' means ''colour''.) A normal red blood cell has a biconcave disk shape and will have an a ...

) containing ''Vitriolum martis'' (

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

and iron) and ''Sal tartari'' (

potassium carbonate Potassium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula K2 CO3. It is a white salt, which is soluble in water. It is deliquescent, often appearing as a damp or wet solid. Potassium carbonate is mainly used in the production of soap and gl ...

) in ''Österreichische medicinische Wochenschrift'' which was republished and refined in the following years. By the time of the Vimperk fire of 1857, Popper was the town's mayor. After the fire, he implored the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

for assistance. Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

himself came to Vimperk and was the guest of Albert Popper. The emperor agreed to provide imperial funds for repair and reconstruction.

Publications

* 1842. ''Skizzirte Geschichte der fürstl. Schwarzenbergischen Allodial-Herrschaft Winterberg, im Prachiner Kreise Böhmens''. (''Historical Sketch of the princely Schwarzenberg Allodial Lordship of Vimperk in the Prachatice District of Bohemia'') * 1845. ''On the Extract of Belladonna in Inflammations of the Throat, by Dr Popper, County Physician at Winterberg''. The British Journal of Homœopathy (Translation and reprint of original article from ''Austrian Weekly Journal'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popper, Albert 19th-century Czech physicians Czech Jews Austro-Hungarian Jews Mayors of places in the Czech Republic University of Vienna alumni People from Příbram District 1808 births 1889 deaths