Friedrich Dessauer (19 July 1881 – 16 February 1963) was a physicist, a philosopher, a socially engaged entrepreneur and a journalist. Friedrich Dessauer was born in

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the Aschaffenburg (district), district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative sea ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. As a young man he was fascinated by new discoveries in the natural sciences. He was particularly interested in the

X-rays An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nbs ...

discovered by Röntgen and their medical applications. After attending the humanistic Gymnasium in Aschaffenburg, he studied electrical engineering and physics at the

Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt ...

and the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. Due to radiation damage during his research on the use of X-rays, his face was badly damaged and he was repeatedly treated with plastic surgery. In connection with this, he was released from military service. Due to the death of his father, he initially interrupted his studies, continued in 1914 at the Goethe University Frankfurt and then completed it in 1917. From 1924 to 1933 he was a Zentrum party member of the Reichstag, the German Parliament. A practicing

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

with a

Jewish 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""The ...

grandparent, he was imprisoned by the Nazis when they came to power for his opposition to Hitler. He was released at request of the Turkish government, who invited him to the

University of Istanbul , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

, where he was made chair of the Institute. Here he worked together with Erich Uhlmann to develop medical applications of X-rays in Turkey. He moved to

Fribourg University The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisiu ...

in 1937 to become the chair of experimental physics. On 16 February 1963 Dessauer died from

radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirab ...

. His name was added to the ''

Monument to the X-ray and Radium Martyrs of All Nations The Monument to the X-ray and Radium Martyrs of All Nations (also known as the X-ray Martyrs' Memorial) is a memorial in Hamburg, Germany, commemorating those who died due to their work with the use of radiation, particularly X-rays, in medicine. ...

'' in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dessauer, Friedrich German Roman Catholics 1881 births 1963 deaths People from Aschaffenburg 20th-century German philosophers Continental philosophers Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic German male writers X-ray pioneers Technische Universität Darmstadt alumni