Abraham Romeo Seligmann better known as Franz Romeo Seligmann (born 30 June 1808 in Nikolsburg, today Mikulov, in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

; died 15 September 1892 in Vienna), was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

doctor and

medical historian The medical history, case history, or anamnesis (from Greek: ἀνά, ''aná'', "open", and μνήσις, ''mnesis'', "memory") of a patient is information gained by a physician by asking specific questions, either to the patient or to other peo ...

Life

The son of doctor Isaak Seligmann began his studies at the age of 17 at

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 histor ...

. Seligmann studied medicine and languages and learned Persian in order to read an old medical manuscript for his dissertation, ("De re medica Persarum", 1830). Later he published an excerpt from the second part of the manuscript: "Liber fundamentorum pharmacologiae auctore

Abu Mansur Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...

., Epitome etc." (Pars I, II, Vienna 1830, 33), together with a German short version. In 1860 the Vienna k. k. State Printing Facsimile with commentary appear: "Codex Vindobonensis sive medici Abu Mansur ... liber fundamentorum pharmacologiae". In addition to his work as a medical historian Seligmann worked as a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

doctor and took up art history studies. Over a five-year period around this time, Seligmann worked as a junior doctor at the General Hospital, while he also moved in an academic circle around

Karl von Holtei Karl Eduard von Holtei (24 January 1798 – 12 February 1880) was a German poet and actor. Life and career Karl Eduard von Holtei was born at Breslau, the son of an officer of Hussars. Having served in the Prussian army as a volunteer in 1815, ...

, Franz Grillparzer, Ludwig August Frankl von Hochwart,

Eduard von Bauernfeld Eduard von Bauernfeld (13 January 1802 – 9 August 1890), Austrian dramatist, was born at Vienna. Life Having studied jurisprudence at the University of Vienna, he entered the government service in a legal capacity, and after holding variou ...

Eduard von Feuchtersleben Eduard Freiherr von Feuchtersleben (1798–1857) was a Kraków-born mining engineer and writer. Biography Von Feuchtersleben was born in . His parents were Josephine (1772–1801) and Ernst von Feuchtersleben (1765–1834), an engineer from Hil ...

and Franz von Schober and developed a close relationship with Ottilie von Goethe. In 1869 he became a full professor at the University of Vienna and he also carried out ethnographic examinations (especially on skulls) – at this time

phrenology Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...

was fashionable and Seligmann had fragments of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's skull. Seligmann retired in 1879. His only son was the painter Adalbert Seligmann.

Honors

In 1863 he was elected a member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

.Member entry of Franz Romeo Seligmann at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
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Literature

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References

External links

How Beethoven's Skull got to San Jose

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seligmann, Franz Romeo Austrian orientalists Epidemiologists Austrian medical historians 19th-century Austrian physicians Academic staff of the University of Vienna Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina 19th-century Austrian historians 1808 births 1892 deaths Austrian Indologists Austrian translators Arabic–German translators Linguists from Austria Austrian people of Jewish descent People from Mikulov 19th-century translators