Leopold Landau (July 16, 1848 – December 28, 1920) was a German

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area ...

born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Life and career

Landau studied medicine at the Universities of Breslau,

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

and

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 ...

, obtaining his doctorate at the latter institution in 1870. After serving as an assistant

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

during the Franco-Prussian War, he was a lecturer in gynecology at the University of Breslau (1872–76). Afterwards, he returned to

as a lecturer of gynecology, where in 1893 he became a full professor. In 1892 with his brother, Theodor Landau (1861–1932), he opened a ''Frauenklinik'' (''Women's clinic'') in Berlin that became well known throughout Germany. From here, he conducted medical research, publishing noted works on

myoma A myoma is a type of tumor that involves muscle cells. There are two main types of myoma: * Leiomyomas which occur in smooth muscle. They most commonly occur as uterine fibroids, but may also form in other locations. * Rhabdomyomas which occur i ...

and radical

vaginal In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hyme ...

operations. With his brother, he was co-author of ''Die Vaginale Radicaloperation: Technik und Geschichte'' (1896), being later translated into English and published a
''The history and technique of the vaginal radical operation''
(1897). Landau was active in the

Zionist movement Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Jew ...

and one of the founders of the ''Berlin Akademie für die Wissenschaft des Judentums'' (''Berlin Academy for the Science of Judaism''). He died in Berlin. His son was the famous

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

Edmund Landau Edmund Georg Hermann Landau (14 February 1877 – 19 February 1938) was a German mathematician who worked in the fields of number theory and complex analysis. Biography Edmund Landau was born to a Jewish family in Berlin. His father was Leopold ...

(1877-1938).

Selected writings

* ''Die Wanderniere der Frauen'', 1881. * ''Die Wanderleber und der Hängebauch der Frauen'', 1882. * ''Die Vaginale Radicaloperation: Technik und Geschichte'' (with Theodor Landau), 1896. * ''Anatomische und Klinische Beiträge zur Lehre von der Myomen am Weiblichen Sexualapparat'', 1899.

References

biography @

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

Virtual Judaica
(biographical information) {{DEFAULTSORT:Landau, Leopold German gynaecologists Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin 19th-century German Jews Physicians from Warsaw 1848 births 1920 deaths Physicians of the Charité