Theodor Hahn (May 19, 1824 – March 3, 1883) was a German

hydrotherapist Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and tr ...

, naturopath and vegetarianism activist.

Biography

Hahn was born at

Ludwigslust Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...

. He was influenced by the hydrotherapy of his cousin J. H. Rausse and started his own water cure therapy in October, 1847.Kirchfeld, Friedhelm; Boyle, Wade. (1994). ''Nature Doctors: Pioneers in Naturopathic Medicine''. Medicina Biológica. pp. 49-53. He worked with Rausse until his death in 1848 at a water cure institution in Alexandersbad. Hahn was one of the first to use the term "Naturheilkunde" (Nature Cure). In 1850, he managed Buchenthal water cure in

Canton of St. Gallen The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall (german: link=no, Kanton St. Gallen ; rm, Chantun Son Gagl; french: Canton de Saint-Gall; it, Canton San Gallo), is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen. Located in northeastern ...

, Switzerland. In 1852, he became director of Tiefenau water cure in Canton of Zürich. Hahn completed the second and third part of Rausse's book ''Instructions for the Use of Water Cure'' during 1851–1852. In the early 1850s Hahn gave up alcohol,

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

, meat and

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spice ...

s.Treitel, Corinna. (2017). ''Eating Nature in Modern Germany: Food, Agriculture and Environment, c.1870 to 2000''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 41-42. He operated a naturopathic sanatorium Auf der Waid in Oberwaid near

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

from 1862. Medical Historian Karl Eduard Rothschuh commented that Hahn "started out exclusively with the water cure but with his addition of dietetics and vegetarianism to nature cure, he pushed its influence into the beginning of the health and life reform movement." Hahn was influenced by

Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland Christoph Wilhelm Friedrich Hufeland (12 August 1762, Bad Langensalza, Langensalza – 25 August 1836, Berlin) was a Germany, German physician, naturopath and writer. He is famous as the most eminent practical physician of his time in Germany a ...

's book ''Makrobiotik'' and began to prescribe to his patients a

lacto-vegetarian A lacto-vegetarian (sometimes referred to as a lactarian; from the Latin root lact-, ''milk'') diet is a diet that abstains from the consumption of meat as well as eggs, while still consuming dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ...

diet from 1852 that consisted of

whole wheat bread Whole wheat bread or wholemeal bread is a type of bread made using flour that is partly or entirely milled from whole or almost-whole wheat grains, see whole-wheat flour and whole grain. It is one kind of brown bread. Synonyms or near-synonym ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

and uncooked

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s.Bergdolt, Klaus. (2008). ''Wellbeing: A Cultural History of Healthy Living''. Polity Press. p. 286. Hahn's vegetarianism influenced Eduard Baltzer, Richard Wagner and many others.Lentz, Carola. (1999). ''Changing Food Habits: Cases Studies from Africa, South America and Europe''. Harwood Academic Publishers. p. 183. His ''Die naturgemässe Diät'' (The Natural Diet) in 1859 argued against the meat-based diet that was promoted by

Jacob Moleschott Jacob Moleschott (9 August 1822 – 20 May 1893) was a Dutch physiologist and writer on dietetics. He is known for his philosophical views in regard to scientific materialism. He was a member of German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (since 1884). ...

Gabriel Valentin Gabriel Gustav Valentin (July 1810 - 24 May 1883), also Gabriel Valentin, was a German physiologist and professor of physiology at the University of Bern. Gabriel Gustav Valentin was born at Breslau in July 1810. He was Jewish, the son of a Jewis ...

and others. He argued for a meatless diet and provided evidence of its physiological benefits, including longevity and

physical strength Physical strength is the measure of a human's exertion of force on physical objects. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training. Overview An individual's physical strength is determined by two factors: the cross-sectional ar ...

. In 1865, Hahn authored a bestseller ''Das Paradies der Gesundheit, das verlorene und das wiedergefundene'' (The Paradise of Health, the Lost One, and the One Regained). Hahn opposed animal

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal testi ...

. He died from colon cancer on March 3, 1883.

Selected publications

*''Die naturgemässe Diät: die Diät der Zukunft'' (1859) *''Das Paradies der Gesundheit, das verlorene und das wiedergefundene'' (1865) *''Praktische Handbuch der Naturgemässen Heilweise'' (1865)
''Der Naturarzt''
(1870) *''Der Hausarzt'' (1878)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hahn, Theodor 1824 births 1883 deaths Anti-vivisectionists German male non-fiction writers German vegetarianism activists Hydrotherapists Naturopaths People from Ludwigslust

Biography

Selected publications

See also

References