Leon Jan Wachholz (Wacholz) (1867–1942) was a Polish scientist and

medical examiner The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions who is trained in pathology that investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictio ...

who researched and taught as a professor of

forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to Criminal law, criminal and Civil law (legal system), civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standard ...

and

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medicine at

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

between 1896 and 1933 and published formative works on forensics. He is considered to be one of the most important representatives of forensic medicine in Poland in the 20th century and creator of the modern Polish forensic medical school. He authored over 200 papers in forensic medicine and medical history both in

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and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Life

Wachholz was born in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

to (1814–1873), professor of universal history at Jagiellonian University, and Joanna née Zagórska. He studied at Jagiellonian University, which he graduated with a doctorate in medical sciences in 1890. Then he completed supplementary studies at universities in

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Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

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and

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. After returning to Krakow, in 1894, he received his postdoctoral degree in forensic medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the Jagiellonian University, and then in the years 1894–1895 he was the head of the Department of Forensic Medicine. In 1895, he was appointed head of the Department of Judiciary and Medicine at the Jagiellonian University, which he held until 1923. He was appointed associate professor in 1896, and full professor in 1898. In the academic year 1901/1902 he was the dean of The Faculty of Medicine of the Jagiellonian University, and in 1908/1909 the dean of the Faculty of Law of the Jagiellonian University. In 1930, he became a member of the

Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning ( pl, Polska Akademia Umiejętności), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of scien ...

. In 1934 he was appointed honorary professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the Jagiellonian University. His students included , , and .

Imprisonment and death

On November 6, 1939, he was arrested by the Germans. After three weeks in prisons in Kraków and

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

, he ended up in the

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

. His stay in the camp had a bad effect on his health, and he was placed in the camp hospital. He was released from the camp on February 8, 1940, and returned to Kraków seriously ill. He never recovered and died there .

Personal life

He was married to Józefa Sariusz Jelita – Małecka. (1897–1957), professor for administrative law at Jagiellonian University, was his son.

References

External links

* * *

Works by Leon Wachholz

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wachholz, Leon 1867 births 1942 deaths Jagiellonian University alumni Academic staff of Jagiellonian University Medical examiners Sachsenhausen concentration camp prisoners Scientists from Kraków