Theodor Zwinger III (26 August 1658 – 22 April 1724) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

physician.

Life

Theodor Zwinger came from an important

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

family of scholars. His father was the Basel theology professor Johannes Zwinger. He studied in Basel from 1675 and in 1680 was made a

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

with the dissertation ''De paedotrophia''. He then spent two years in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, including in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. After his return to Basel, he pursued a career as a university lecturer at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

. First he took over the

professorship Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

in 1684, three years later the

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, in 1703 that of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

and

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, and in 1711 the chair of theoretical and practical medicine which he retained until his death. He also worked as Stadtarzt (town doctor), was dean several times and in 1711/1712 rector. In 1685 Zwinger was elected a member of the

German National 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 ...

. In 1706 he became a member of the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...

. In 1700 Zwinger was offered the first chair of medicine at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

. The Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel and the

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

sought to secure him by offers; but nothing could persuade him to leave his native town. Appointed physician and

Aulic Council The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juris ...

ler to the

Duke of Württemberg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

and the Marquis of Baden-Durlach, he received the same titles from several princes and from various towns in Germany. In December 1703, he moved from the chair of

to that of

and

. In winter he presided over dissections in the amphitheater, and in summer, followed by his pupils, he traveled through the mountains of Switzerland to collect new plants, with which he enriched the garden of the academy. The city of Freiburg im Breisgau, afflicted with an epidemic in 1710, demanded the care of Zwinger. He spent the day visiting the sick and part of the night writing up his observations. He made valuable contributions to

pediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...

and

classes in Basel. He also maintained an extensive correspondence, including with

Johann Jakob Scheuchzer Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (2 August 1672 – 23 June 1733) was a Swiss scholar born at Zürich. Herbarium deluvianum Zürich, Zwingli-Platz ( Grossmünster) : Former home of Konrad von Mure († 1280) and the house, where Johann Jakob Scheuch ...

.Michael Kempe
''Postalische Kommunikationen. Medizin in der Korrespondenz von Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672–1733).''
In: ''Gesnerus'', 61 (2004) S. 177–197. The theologian Johann Rudolf Zwinger was a brother of Zwinger. One son was the anatomist Johann Rudolph Zwinger. His nephew Johann Rudolf Mieg was also one of his students.

References

1658 births 1724 deaths People from Basel-Landschaft 17th-century Swiss physicians 18th-century Swiss physicians Academic staff of the University of Basel {{Switzerland-med-bio-stub