Eduard von Hofmann

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Eduard Ritter von Hofmann (born January 27, 1837 in Prague , † August 27, 1897 in Opatija ) was an Austrian physician and is considered a pioneer of modern forensic pathology .

Life

Portrait of Hofmann at the age of about 40

Hofmann studied at Charles University in Prague , obtained his doctorate in 1861 and qualified as a professor in 1865 on amniotic fluid aspiration during childbirth. On the recommendation of Carl von Rokitansky , he was appointed to the chair for state medicine at the University of Innsbruck in 1869. By using newly developed methods and devices such as microscopy , spectroscopy and animal experiments for forensic medicine, he gave science new impulses. In 1873 von Hofmann became dean in Innsbruck, but in 1875 he accepted a call to the University of Vienna in order to continue his professorship at the intercession of the now emeritus Rokitansky.

Like his predecessor, he tied his forensic medicine institute forcefully into the autopsy system, which ensured an adequate supply of bodies for research. He also supported the increased collaboration with experimental pathologists and forensic toxicologists in forensic medicine. Ultimately, his endeavor was to establish a forensic medicine freed from the predominance of pathological anatomy. In this sense, he separated the forensic medicine museum from the pathological-anatomical exhibition of the university. His work raised the overall importance of the Vienna Institute to an internationally recognized level.

Von Hofmann was given both academic and state recognition for his services to science and health care in the form of numerous medals and the elevation to the nobility with the award of the title "Knight of". Eduard von Hofmann's main work, the “Textbook for Forensic Medicine” published in 1878, was translated into all scientific languages ​​and had nine editions up to Hofmann's premature death. He himself received a grave of honor in the Vienna Central Cemetery .

cases

Among the cases, some of which have been followed with international attention, in which Hofmann was called in as a forensic medical expert, the following can be highlighted:

  • Solicitation of the murder of a young woman by her groom, who was convicted of the people who had fallen in the Stelvio Pass on the basis of torn hair on the hands .
  • Collaboration in the identification of the almost 400 victims of the ring theater fire of December 8, 1881 discovery of the poisoning with carbon monoxide as the actual cause of death of fire victims and thus that carbon monoxide is a sure proof that someone is burned alive.
  • Expert opinion on the identity of a woman's corpse found in the Tisza in the ritual murder trial of Tiszaeszlár (1883)
  • Participation in the expert opinion on the death of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889, which proved suicide.

Works

  • Textbook for Forensic Medicine , 1878 - 11 editions up to 1927

literature

Web links

Commons : Color plates from Hofmann's “Textbook of Forensic Medicine”  - a collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Hofmann, Eduard von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hofmann, Eduard Ritter von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian physician and founding father of modern forensic pathology
DATE OF BIRTH January 27, 1837
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH August 27, 1897
Place of death Opatija