Hans Caspar Hirzel (politician, 1751)

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Hans Caspar Hirzel (1751–1817), from a publication from 1818

Hans Caspar Hirzel (also: Hans Kaspar Hirzel ; born September 3, 1751 in Zurich ; † July 10, 1817 in St. Gallen ) was a Swiss doctor and politician from Zurich. He was the founder and long-time chairman of the Zurich Aid Society as well as the founder of the Swiss non-profit society .

Life

Hirzel was born in Zurich in 1751 as the son of the Zurich doctor and writer Hans Caspar Hirzels and Anna Maria Ziegler. His father is a senior town doctor, a member of the large council in Zurich and a co-founder and first chairman of the Helvetic Society .

In 1774 Hirzel married Salomea Hottinger, the daughter of the town lieutenant Johann Ulrich Hottinger. The marriage has five children, two of whom die in childhood and two more before they reach the age of 25. Only the youngest son, Johann Caspar, succeeds in founding his own family before he too succumbs to an illness at the age of 29.

Like his father, Hirzel also embarked on a career as a doctor, later took over his practice and from 1803, succeeded his father in the position of senior town doctor. Like the father, the son is also politically active. In 1780 he was elected to the Grand Council for the first time and was later repeatedly confirmed as a council member (1798, 1803, 1814). In addition, he holds various public offices and is a member of several commissions.

When the misery among the population increased as a result of the occupation of Zurich by the French troops and the state was unable to care for the poor, Hirzel made preparations to found a charitable organization to alleviate the need. In 1799, on Hirzel's initiative, the Aid Society was brought into being and Hirzel was elected its head. The newly founded organization is primarily to look after the needy, especially those injured in the war, with food and clothing. Hirzel and his circle of friends succeed in establishing the aid society as a charitable organization.

Taking advantage of the contacts he had across Switzerland thanks to his father and which he was able to expand as head of the Zürcher Auxiliary Society, Hirzel advocated the creation of an umbrella organization for non-profit organizations. In 1810 the Swiss Charitable Society was founded.

Hirzel died on July 10, 1817 in the house of his brother-in-law in St. Gallen.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wirz, August Heinrich (1818): Life of Mr. Hans Caspar Hirzels: Archiatrists, and donors of the auxiliary society in Zurich . Zurich: Orell, Füssli and Compagnie. P. 17f.
  2. ↑ Wirz, August Heinrich (1818): Life of Mr. Hans Caspar Hirzels: Archiatrists, and donors of the auxiliary society in Zurich . Zurich: Orell, Füssli and Compagnie. P. 159.
  3. ↑ Wirz, August Heinrich (1818): Life of Mr. Hans Caspar Hirzels: Archiatrists, and donors of the auxiliary society in Zurich . Zurich: Orell, Füssli and Compagnie. P. 57.
  4. ↑ Wirz, August Heinrich (1818): Life of Mr. Hans Caspar Hirzels: Archiatrists, and donors of the auxiliary society in Zurich . Zurich: Orell, Füssli and Compagnie. P. 65.
  5. ↑ Wirz, August Heinrich (1818): Life of Mr. Hans Caspar Hirzels: Archiatrists, and donors of the auxiliary society in Zurich . Zurich: Orell, Füssli and Compagnie. P. 77ff.
  6. ↑ Wirz, August Heinrich (1818): Life of Mr. Hans Caspar Hirzels: Archiatrists, and donors of the auxiliary society in Zurich . Zurich: Orell, Füssli and Compagnie. Pp. 220-221.
personal data
SURNAME Hirzel, Hans Caspar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hirzel, Hans Kaspar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss doctor and politician
DATE OF BIRTH September 3, 1751
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH July 10, 1817
Place of death St. Gallen