Justus Friedrich Karl Hecker (5 January 1795, in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

– 11 May 1850, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

) was a German physician and medical writer, whose works appear in medical encyclopaedias and journals of the time. He particularly studied disease in relation to human history, including

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, infant mortality,

dancing mania Dancing mania (also known as dancing plague, choreomania, St. John's Dance, tarantism and St. Vitus' Dance) was a social phenomenon that occurred primarily in mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. It involved groups of people da ...

and the

sweating sickness Sweating sickness, also known as the sweats, English sweating sickness, English sweat or ''sudor anglicus'' in Latin, was a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning ...

, and is often said to have founded the study of the history of disease.

Life

His father August Friedrich Hecker (1763–1811) was also a physician. In 1805, when Justus was 10, the family moved from Justus's birthplace of Erfurt to Berlin, and Justus later studied medicine at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

, graduating in 1817 and becoming a Privatdozent and then (in 1822) Extraordinary Professor. In 1834, he became the university's "ordinary professor" for the History of Medicine. He also cooperated with the professors of the "Medical Faculty of Berlin" on the encyclopaedic dictionary of the medical sciences.

Selected works

*Geschichte der Heilkunde. Nach den Quellen bearbeitet. 2 in 1 Bd. Berlin: Enslin, 1822–1829 (History of Medicine, produced from the sources, from 2000 BC to the downfall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453) *Die Tanzwuth, eine Volkskrankheit im Mittelalter: nach den Quellen für Aerzte und gebildete Nichtärzte bearbeitet. (The

Dancing Mania Dancing mania (also known as dancing plague, choreomania, St. John's Dance, tarantism and St. Vitus' Dance) was a social phenomenon that occurred primarily in mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. It involved groups of people da ...

, an epidemic of the Middle Ages: from the sources by physicians and non-physicians) Berlin: Enslin, 1832 *Der schwarze Tod im vierzehnten Jahrhundert: Nach den Quellen für Ärzte und gebildete Nichtärzte bearbeitet. (The Black Death in the 14th century: from the sources by physicians and non-physicians) Berlin: Herbig, 1832 *Ueber die Volkskrankheiten. Eine Rede. (On Epidemics: A Speech) Berlin: Enslin, 1832 *Der englische Schweiss. Ein ärztlicher Beitrag zur Geschichte des fünfzehnten und sechszehnten Jahrhunderts. (The

Sweating Sickness Sweating sickness, also known as the sweats, English sweating sickness, English sweat or ''sudor anglicus'' in Latin, was a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning ...

: A medical contribution to the story of the fifteenth and six tenth century.) Berlin 1834 *Kinderfahrten : eine historisch-pathologische Skizze. (Infant-Mortality: A Historical-Pathological Sketch) Berlin: Schade, 1845 *Ueber Visionen : Eine Vorlesung gehalten im wissenschaftlichen Verein zu Berlin am 29. Januar 1848. (On visions: A lecture in Berlin to the Berlin scientific society on 29 January 1848) Berlin: Enslin, 1848 *Die großen Volkskrankheiten des Mittelalters. Historisch-pathologische Untersuchungen. Gesammelt und in erweiterter Bearbeitung herausgegeben von Dr. August Hirsch. (Great Plagues of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Historical-pathological investigations. Gathered and published, expanded by Dr. August Hirsch) Berlin: Verlag Theodor Christian Friedrich Enslin 1865.

Sources

* A. Hirsch,
Justus Hecker
in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, Band 11

External links

Justus Hecker
at Read How You Want
Justus Hecker
in the catalogue of the

Deutschen Nationalbibliothek The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

Justus Hecker
in the catalogue of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Image of the title page of ''Great Plagues of the Middle Ages'' in "Atlas zur Entwicklung der Psychiatrie"
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hecker, Justus 1795 births 1850 deaths 19th-century German physicians German medical historians Historians of the Children's Crusade German pathologists Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Physicians from Erfurt German male non-fiction writers