Wilhelm or William Hillebrand (November 13, 1821 – July 13, 1886) was a German

physician 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 ...

. He practiced medicine in several different countries, including for over 20 years in the

Hawaiian islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

. In 1850, Hillebrand lived at what is now Foster Botanical Garden in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...

and gained acknowledgement as a

botanist 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 wo ...

Life and career

Hillebrand was born on November 13, 1821, in Nieheim,

Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar Republic and from 191 ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

. His father was Judge Franz Josef Hillebrand, and mother Louise Pauline Konig. He studied medicine at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, and practiced at

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

. He sought a warmer climate to recover from a lung problem, (perhaps

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

), first traveling to Australia in 1849, and then the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Hillebrand then went to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

and finally arrived in the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

on December 22, 1850. He stayed for a little over 20 years and made significant contributions to local medical practice. He was able to speak the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language ...

as well as his native

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, English,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. He went into practice with Dr. Wesley Newcomb, and married his stepdaughter Anna Post on November 16, 1852. In 1853, Hillebrand purchased of land from Queen Kalama, just a short distance from where he worked. He had a keen interest in plants, and over the years, planted a number of exotic and native trees in his garden. Six years after his arrival, he and nine other Honolulu physicians petitioned to charter an organization called the Hawaiian Medical Society. Two months later, the petition was granted. Today, it is the

Hawaii Medical Association Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

. After the death of

Thomas Charles Byde Rooke Thomas Charles Byde Rooke (18 May 1806 – 28 November 1858) was an English physician who married into the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He built a mansion called the Rooke House in Honolulu that became popular with political and socia ...

in 1858, he was appointed physician to the royal family of King

Kamehameha IV Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the fourth monarch of Hawaii under the title ''Ke Aliʻi ...

. Hillebrand also served as chief (and only) physician at The Queen's Hospital (now

The Queen's Medical Center The Queen's Medical Center, originally named and still commonly referred to as Queen's Hospital, is the largest private non-profit hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. The institution was founded in 1859 by Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV, and is l ...

), from 1860 to 1871. The hospital was named after Queen Emma, Dr. Rooke's adoptive daughter who was Kamehameha IV's wife. In 1865 he was appointed to the King's Privy Council, the Board of Health, and Bureau of Immigration. In April 1865 Hillebrand traveled to Asia and the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

on behalf of the Hawaiian government. He had three main goals: to find sources of labor for the

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

s, to learn about the latest treatments for

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve d ...

, and to collect and import plants and animals that would be useful to the Islands. Hillebrand wrote an article on

that was published in 1883. Another European immigrant to Hawaii, Joseph Francis Charles Rock (1884–1962) would continue Hillebrand's work of identifying Hawaiian species. Hillebrand moved back to Germany in 1871. In 1877 he arranged for the first immigrants from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

to come to Hawaii as plantation workers. For nearly a decade he considered returning to Hawaii. In 1880, he determined that would never happen, so sold his home to shipping entrepreneur Captain Thomas Foster and his wife Mary, who lived on an adjacent lot. Years later, Mary Foster bequeathed the land to the city, which opened it to the public as Foster Botanical Garden in 1930. He died July 13, 1886, in Heidelberg. He is the father of

William Francis Hillebrand William Francis Hillebrand (December 12, 1853 – February 7, 1925) was an American chemist. Biography He was the son of the renowned botanist William Hillebrand. He studied at Cornell University and then in Germany at the University of Heidelber ...

(1853–1925), an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

Awards and honors

* Many plants are named in his honor, including the genus ''

Hillebrandia ''Hillebrandia sandwicensis'' is a species of a herbaceous perennial flowering plant native to some of the Hawaiian Islands. Common names include akaakaawa and pua maka nui. The genus name honors the German physician William Hillebrand. Descript ...

'', '' Diospyros hillebrandii'', '' Gouania hillebrandii'', '' Lobelia hillebrandii'', '' Lysimachia hillebrandii'', ''

Pritchardia hillebrandii The genus ''Pritchardia'' (family Arecaceae) consists of between 24 and 40 species of fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae) found on tropical Pacific Ocean islands in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuamotus, and most diversely in Hawaii. The generic name h ...

'', ''Dubautia linearis'' subsp. ''hillebrandii'', '' Sicyos hillebrandii'', '' Cyperus hillebrandii'', '' Geranium hillebrandii'', and '' Phyllostegia hillebrandii'', all endemic to Hawaii, and '' Veronica hillebrandii'' and '' Phebalium hillebrandii'' from Australia.

Life and career

Awards and honors

Publications

References

Further reading