Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria (9 August 1839 – 30 November 1909), was a member of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

and a professional

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

. He was the favorite brother of the

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth was ...

, and father of Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians.

Life

Karl-Theodor was born at

Possenhofen Castle Possenhofen Castle (german: Schloss Possenhofen) is located in the town of Possenhofen on the western shore of Lake Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany. History The castle was built in 1536 by Jakob Rosenbusch, was destroyed during the Thirty Years' ...

, the third son of Duke Maximilian in Bavaria and of his wife,

Princess Ludovika of Bavaria Princess Ludovika of Bavaria (Marie Ludovika Wilhelmine; ''Mary Louise Wilhelmina''; 30 August 1808 – 25 January 1892) was the sixth child of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife, Karoline of Baden, and the mother of Empress El ...

. At the age of fourteen Karl-Theodor joined the Bavarian Army. In 1866 he fought in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

. When he left active duty, he became a student at the

Ludwig Maximilian 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 ...

, where he studied philosophy, law, economics, and medicine. Among his teachers were the chemist

Justus von Liebig Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) was a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. As a professor at t ...

, the pathologist

Ludwig von Buhl Ludwig von Buhl (4 January 1816 – 30 July 1880) was a German pathologist born in Munich. He studied medicine in Munich and Vienna, and in 1847 was habilitated as a lecturer of pathological anatomy and microscopy at the University of Munich. In 18 ...

, and the physicist

Philipp von Jolly Johann Philipp Gustav von Jolly (26 September 1809 – 24 December 1884) was a German physicist and mathematician. Born in Mannheim as the son of merchant Louis Jolly and Marie Eleonore Jolly, he studied science in Heidelberg, Vienna and Berlin. A ...

. In 1870 Karl-Theodor's studies were interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War in which he served as a proprietary colonel of the 3rd Bavarian Light Horse. After the war he returned to his studies. In 1872 he was named an honorary Doctor of Medicine by the Ludwig Maximilian University; the following year he completed the requirements for the degree. Then he studied

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

under Professor Deutschland and continued his education under Professor Arlt in Vienna and Professor Horner in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

. In 1877 Karl-Theodor began practicing medicine in

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

e on the

Côte d'Azur The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

, often assisted by his wife Maria Josepha. In 1880 he opened an eye-clinic in his castle at

Tegernsee Tegernsee is a town in the Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the shore of Lake Tegernsee, which is 747 m (2,451 ft) above sea level. A spa town, it is surrounded by an alpine landscape of Upper Bavaria, and has an e ...

. In 1895 he founded the ''Augenklinik Herzog Carl Theodor'' ( en, Duke Charles Theodore Eye Clinic) in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

; the clinic in the Nymphenburger Strasse remains one of the most respected eye clinics in Bavaria to the present day. Between 1895 and 1909 Carl Theodor personally carried out more than 5,000

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...

operations as well as treating countless other eye disorders.

Marriages and family

On 11 February 1865, at

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, Karl-Theodor married his first cousin

Princess Sophie of Saxony , title = Duchess Sophie in Bavaria , image = Sophie Marie von Sachsen 1845 1867.jpg , caption = , spouse = Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria , issue = Amalie, Duchess of Urach , house = Wettin , father =John of ...

(1845–1867), daughter of King John of Saxony and his maternal aunt

Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria Amalie Auguste (13 November 1801, in Munich – 8 November 1877, in Dresden) was a Bavarian princess by birth and Queen of Saxony by marriage to King John of Saxony. Biography Amalie was the fourth child of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria a ...

. They had one child: *

Duchess Amalie in Bavaria , title = Duchess of Urach , image = AmalieinBayern.jpg , caption = , reign = , coronation = , predecessor = , successor = , succession = , spouse = Wilhelm, 2nd Duke of Urach , is ...

(24 December 1865 – 26 May 1912) she married

Wilhelm, Duke of Urach Count Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand of Württemberg, 1st Duke of Urach (6 July 1810 – 17 July 1869), was the son of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg (1761–1830), younger brother of King Frederick I of Württemberg, by his morganatic wif ...

, on 4 July 1892, and had issue. On 29 April 1874, at

Kleinheubach Kleinheubach is a market community in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and the seat of the like-named ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (municipal association). It has a popul ...

, Karl-Theodor married

Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal , house = Braganza , father = Miguel of Portugal , mother = Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg , birth_date =19 March 1857 , birth_place =Schloss Bronnbach , death_date = , death_place =Vienna, Austria , bu ...

(1857–1943), daughter of exiled King Miguel I of Portugal and

Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

, and had issue: * Duchess Sophie Adelheid in Bavaria (22 February 1875 – 4 September 1957), married Hans Viet, Count of Törring-Jettenbach, on 26 July 1898, and had issue. * Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria (25 July 1876 – 23 November 1965), married King

Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-S ...

on 2 October 1900, and had issue. * Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria (1878–1912) she married

Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine by (the) Rhine (''Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand''; English: ''Robert Maria Leopold Ferdinand''; 18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955), was the last hei ...

, on 10 August 1900, and had issue. * Duke Ludwig Wilhelm in Bavaria (1884–1968), married Princess Eleonore Anna Lucie of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

on 19 March 1917. * Duke Franz Joseph in Bavaria (1888–1912) Prince Karl Theodor died from kidney trouble at Bayreuth on 30 November 1909.

Honours

Karl-Theodor received a number of honours:
Hof- und - Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern
' (1908), "Landtag des Königreiches: Mitglieder der Kammer der Reichsräte"
p. 157
/ref> He was honorary doctor of the

University of Louvain A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, honorary colonel of the 5th Regiment of Prussian Dragoons, and an honorary member of the Academy of Medical Sciences in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Karl-Theodor died at

Kreuth Kreuth is a municipality and a village in the district of Miesbach in Bavaria in Germany. Schloss Ringberg During the days of Bavarian monarchy, the castle Ringberg was owned by the dukes of Bavaria. It was donated to the Max Planck Society in 19 ...

in 1909. He is buried in the family crypt in Schloss Tegernsee.

Ancestry

Bibliography

* Sexau, Richard. ''Fürst und Arzt, Dr. med. Herzog Carl Theodor in Bayern: Shicksal zwischen Wittelsbach und Habsburg''. Graz: Verlag Styria, 1963. * Trevor-Roper, Patrick Dacre. "The Royal Oculist". ''British Journal of Ophthalmology'' 43 (1959): 1–2.

References

External links

Website of the Herzog Carl Theodor Eye Clinic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karl-Theodor In Bavaria, Duke 1839 births 1909 deaths People from Starnberg (district) People from the Kingdom of Bavaria German ophthalmologists House of Wittelsbach Military personnel of Bavaria People of the Austro-Prussian War Dukes in Bavaria Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles