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

alchemical Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

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 Univer ...

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, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

, where he obtained a degree at the

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

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

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, where he became a physician to the

Prince of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...

(later to be

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic f ...

).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. Helvetius married Johanna Pels (1643–1709) in July 1658 in The Hague. They had 16 children, including

Adriaan Helvetius Adriaan is the Dutch and Afrikaans spelling of the given name Adrian. Before the 19th century the spelling Adriaen was also common, and people used the spelling interchangeably. Adriaan may refer to: People Artists * Adriaen Backer (1635–1684) ...

(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 ipec ...

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

court physician A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

, 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 mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite tarot deck (also called the Rider–Waite–Smith ...

, ''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 17th-century Dutch physicians Dutch alchemists German emigrants to the Netherlands People from Köthen (Anhalt) University of Harderwijk alumni 17th-century alchemists 18th-century alchemists