Maximilian Leidesdorf (27 June 1818 – 9 October 1889) was an Austrian psychiatrist born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He was the son of the composer Maximilian Joseph Leidesdorf. In 1845 he received his medical doctorate from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

, afterwards visiting asylums in Italy, Germany, England and France. In 1856 he received his habilitation in Vienna, where he practiced medicine for the remainder of his career. In 1872 he became head of the department of mental illness at

Vienna General Hospital The Vienna General Hospital (german: Allgemeines Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien), usually abbreviated to AKH, is the general hospital of the city of Vienna, Austria. It is also the city's university hospital, and the site of the Medical Unive ...

, followed by an appointment in 1875 as director of the ''Landesirrenanstalt'' (State Lunatic Asylum). One of his famous assistants was Julius Wagner-Jauregg (1857-1940), winner of the 1927

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

. Much of his written work dealt with the correlation between physical and mental illnesses. With

Theodor Meynert Theodor Hermann Meynert (15 June 1833 – 31 May 1892) was a German-Austrian psychiatrist, neuropathologist and anatomist born in Dresden. Meynert believed that disturbances in brain development could be a predisposition for psychiatric illness a ...

(1833-1892), he was co-founder of the quarterly psychiatric journal ''Vierteljahresschrift für Psychiatrie''. In 1876 he was summoned to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

to examine the mental state of dethroned Sultan

Murad V Murad V ( ota, مراد خامس, translit=Murâd-ı ḫâmis; tr, V. Murad; 21 September 1840 – 29 August 1904) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who reigned from 30 May to 31 August 1876. The son of Abdulmejid I, he supported the ...

, and in 1886 was asked for advice on the mental condition of

King Ludwig II of Bavaria King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

Written works

* ''Beiträge zur Diagnostik und Behandlung der Primären Formen des Irreseins'',

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

, (1855) * ''Das Römerbad Tüffer in Steiermark'', Vienna, (1857). * ''Compendium der Psychiatrie für Aerzte und Studirende'', (1860). * ''Pathologie und Therapie der psychischen Krankheiten'',

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 116,062 inhab ...

, (1860). * ''Erläuterungen zur Irrenhausfrage Niederösterreichs'', Vienna, (1868). * ''Vierteljahresschrift für Psychiatrie'' (with

). * ''Psychiatrische Studien aus der Klinik Leidesdorf'', (1877). * ''Das Traumleben'', Vienna, (1880).

External links

Pagel: Biographical Dictionary
(translated biography)
''Max Leidesdorf''
@ Jewish Encyclopedia
Photo of Max Leidesdorf
@ AEIOU Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Leidesdorf, Maximilian 1818 births 1889 deaths Austrian psychiatrists Scientists from Vienna Burials at Döbling Cemetery