Josef Gebhard Schädler (21 September 1776 – 20 November 1842) was a surgeon from Liechtenstein.

Early life

Schädler was born on 21 September 1776 as the son of surgeon Johann Georg Gebhard Schädler and his mother Maria Sabine Bayer as one of three children. He attended high school in Feldkirch and from 1796 to 1798 he studied medicine in the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

, where he received a master's degree in surgery.

Career

Schädler fought as a member of the 20-man Liechtenstein volunteer corps against the French during the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...

, where he was wounded in 1797. From 1799 to 1801 he was a regimental surgeon of a Graubünden regiment in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He was the first academically trained doctor in Liechtenstein and opened his own medical practice in

Eschen Eschen (; High Alemannic: ''Escha'') is a municipality in the north of Liechtenstein. It covers an area of , and is one of the five communes in the Unterland electoral district. As of 2024, it has a population of 4,629 inhabitants. Etymolog ...

in 1801, later in

Nendeln Nendeln is a village located in the municipality of Eschen in Liechtenstein. As of 2023, 1,407 people live within Nendeln. History Prior to the establishment of the village, the Roman Empire had a presence in the area; villas from that time period ...

. From 1802 he was a regional doctor in Unterland and from 1809 to 1842 he was state physicist. Due to this, he moved to

Vaduz Vaduz (; or ; High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' ...

as it had been assigned to him as his official residence. He built a private medical library and fought against

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or Ignorance, ignorant medicine, medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or public ...

in the medical field, where on his initiative compulsory

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 (W ...

vaccinations were introduced for Liechtenstein citizens in 1812. Schädler was the first doctor to provide

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

and train midwives in the country, as well as treat poor sick people and royal officials in addition to medical examinations for the Liechtenstein military. In 1842, he retired to

Bendern Bendern is a village of Liechtenstein, together with the town of Gamprin it forms in the municipality of Gamprin. It is the third smallest in the country, with an area of 6.19 km2 and a total population of 1664 people (as of 2015). The villa ...

with his son Karl Schädler taking over his medical practice, where he died on 20 November 1842, aged 66 years old.

Personal life

Schädler married Maria Katharina Hasler (1 January 1784 – 3 November 1861) in 1803 and they had nine children together. His son Karl Schädler took over his medical practice and was President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 1862 to 1870.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gebhard, Schädler 1776 births 1842 deaths People from Mauren University of Freiburg alumni 18th-century surgeons 19th-century surgeons People of the War of the First Coalition Liechtenstein physicians Liechtenstein military personnel 18th-century Liechtenstein people 19th-century Liechtenstein people