Ferdinand Mainzer (16 January 1871 – 3 January 1943) was a German-Jewish gynaecologist and historical author. Born 16 January 1871,Thomas Corinth, ed., ''Lovis Corinth: eine Dokumentation'', Wasmuth, 1979, p.377 Mainzer wrote his doctoral dissertation on wandering spleen. In the 1890s he worked at the Berlin clinic of the gynecologist

Leopold Landau Leopold Landau (July 16, 1848 – December 28, 1920) was a German gynecologist born in Warsaw. Life and career Landau studied medicine at the Universities of Breslau, Würzburg and Berlin, obtaining his doctorate at the latter institution i ...

. Mainzer had artistic connections and historical interests. He married Gertrud Sabersky, a student of the artist Walter Leistikow, and his own portrait was painted by

Lovis Corinth Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism. Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Sec ...

in 1899. After a hand injury meant that he could no longer perform surgery, he turned to writing about antiquity.Konrad Weber,
Prof. Dr. Dr. Friedrich Erxleben
October 2008. He was interested in

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

, and a friend of the numismatist Edward Gans. His biography of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

was translated into French and English, and widely reviewed. The book inspired

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

to write his own novel about Caesar, ''

The Ides of March The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several Religion in ancient Rome, religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling d ...

''. Mainzer was a close friend of the Catholic priest Friedrich von Erxleben, who was a member of the Solf Circle of intellectuals involved in the resistance against

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

. Mainzer and his family were helped to escape to England by the daughter of

Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

and Hanna Solf, the Countess So'oa'emalelagi "Lagi" von Ballestrem-Solf, who escorted them with their jewellery hidden in the lining of her clothes. Mainzer died 3 January 1943. His daughter Luci Manén married Otto John in 1949. He also had a son Max Mainzer (1902–1987) who married Eva Perlis (1908–2006). In May 2021, a portrait of Ferdinand Mainzer by

was accepted for the nation in lieu of a UK inheritance tax bill."Two UK galleries to share portrait of German doctor who resisted Nazis"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' Corinth also painted a portrait of Max entitled ''Max Mainzer with a Siberian Greyhound'' (1912).

Works

* ''Wandermilz und Splenektomie'', München: J. F. Lehmann, 1892 * 'Das Dekadrachmon von Athen', ''Zeitschrift für Numismatik'', vol. 36 (1926), pp. 37–54 * ''Siciliana aus griechisch-römischer Zeit'', Berlin: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1930. * ''Clodia: Politik und Liebe auf dem Palatin'', Berlin: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1931. * ''Der Kampf um Caesars Erbe'', Leipzig: E.P. Tal, 1934. Translated by Eden and Cedar Paul as ''Caesar's mantle; the end of the Roman republic'', New York: Viking, 1936.

References

1871 births 1943 deaths German gynaecologists 20th-century German historians Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom German male non-fiction writers {{Germany-med-bio-stub