Johann Christian Gottlieb Ackermann (17 February 1756 – 9 March 1801) was a German

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

Biography

He was born at

Zeulenroda Zeulenroda-Triebes is a German town in the district of Greiz in the state of Thuringia. Zeulenroda-Triebes is situated in the south of Greiz in the mountains of the Thuringian Slate Mountains (Thüringer Schiefergebirge), on the border with Saxon ...

, in

Upper Saxony {{short description, Historic lands in Central Germany Upper Saxony (german: Obersachsen) was the name given to the majority of the German lands held by the House of Wettin, in what is now called Central Germany (''Mitteldeutschland''). Concept ...

, on 17 February 1756. His parents were the physician Johann Samuel Ackermann (1705-1762) and the Eva Rosine Oberreuther (1722-1776), the daughter of the tanning master Paul Steinmüller. Attending the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

at only fifteen years old, Johann found a teacher in

Ernst Gottfried Baldinger Ernst Gottfried Baldinger (13 May 1738 – 21 January 1804), German physician, was born in Großvargula near Erfurt. He studied medicine at Erfurt, Halle and Jena, earning his MD in 1760 under the guidance of Ernst Anton Nicolai and in 1761 wa ...

. The two relocated to

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

where he studied, apart from

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

, the classical sciences, as a student of

Christian Gottlob Heyne Christian Gottlob Heyne (; 25 September 1729 – 14 July 1812) was a German classical scholar and archaeologist as well as long-time director of the Göttingen State and University Library. He was a member of the Göttingen School of History. ...

. Ackermann was promoted in 1775 to private lecturer at the medical faculty of Halle, where he lived for two years. Afterwards, he returned to

to practice medicine and physics. In 1786, he followed a call to Altdorf, where he was appointed professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. In 1794 he accepted a position as chair of applied medicine and - at the same time - a position as the head of the local hospital for the poor. He died at the age of 45 from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. The main focus of Ackermann's scientific works lies in his historical studies of the medical sciences during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. He collected several rare medical writings and translated foreign publications into German. He wrote ''Institutiones Historiae Medicinae'' (Nuremberg, 1792) and ''Institutiones Therapiae Generalis'' (Nuremberg and Altdorf, 1784-1795).1
/ref>

Publications

* ''Regimen sanitatis Salerni'', Stendal, 1790 * ''Institutiones historicae medicinae'', Nuremberg, 1792 * ''Bemerkungen über die Kenntnis und Kur einiger Krankheiten'', 7 booklets in old German language, 1794-1800

Sources

* ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie''
online version

References

1756 births 1801 deaths People from Zeulenroda-Triebes People from Reuss 18th-century German physicians University of Jena alumni University of Göttingen alumni Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg Academic staff of the University of Altdorf 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Germany {{edu-bio-stub