Heinrich Koppel

Heinrich Koppel in a recording from the 1920s

Heinrich coupling (also Henrik or Hendrik Koppel; born December 17 ^{. Jul} / 29. December  1863 ^greg. Farm Naelu talu , village Tõnuküla , then rural community Uusna, Governorate of Livonia , now rural community Viiratsi , Viljandi County , Estonia ; †  14th December 1944 in Tallinn ) was an Estonian medic. From 1920 to 1928 he was rector of the University of Tartu .

Life and science

Heinrich Koppel was born as the oldest of eight children. His parents Jaan Koppel (1842-1891) and Liso Kosenkranius were farmers. From 1872 he first attended the community school, then elementary school and high school in the city of Viljandi , before going to Tartu in 1880 . In 1884 he graduated from the renowned Alexander-Gymnasium there.

Heinrich Koppel completed his four-year course in medicine at the University of Tartu (then Imperial University of Dorpat ) in 1890 . A year later he received his doctorate . He also practiced as a private doctor.

Koppel belonged to the Estonian student association , of which he was chairman in 1887/1888. He was also active in various societies and associations as well as politically. From 1906 to 1914 he was chairman of the influential Vanemuine cultural society in Tartu. In 1903 he founded the Estonian-language health magazine Tervis . Throughout his life he propagated medical topics to a wider public.

After his doctorate, Koppel was employed as a lecturer in medicine at the University of Tartu, and from 1905 as a private lecturer in ear, nose and throat medicine . A year later he was responsible for creating the first chair for ear, nose and throat medicine. From 1918 Koppel was professor for internal medicine , from 1920 for ENT medicine. In 1918/19 he taught during the German occupation of Estonia as a professor at the University of Voronezh before returning to Tartu in 1920.

From 1920 to 1928 Koppel was the rector of the University of Tartu. From 1928 to 1931 he was Vice Rector of the university. At the same time he was director of the Polyclinic for Internal Medicine. During his tenure as rector, Koppel was particularly committed to university teaching in the Estonian language .

In 1926 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University , and a year later he became an honorary member of the University of Latvia . In 1938 he became an honorary member of the Estonian Scholarly Society .

Heinrich Koppel has presented numerous researches in the field of internal medicine, ear, nose and throat medicine and the fight against leprosy . He was also one of the first to campaign for nature conservation in Estonia. The founding of the first nature reserves in the country go back to his initiative. Koppel was considered an expert in ornithology in his homeland.

On January 1, 1934, Koppel retired. He died in Tallinn in late 1944 of gangrene that could not be adequately treated due to the turmoil of World War II .

Private life

In 1890 Koppel married Sophie Härms (1869–1898). The couple had two daughters and a son, all of whom died in their first year of life.

literature

• Eesti elulood. Tallinn: Eesti entsüklopeediakirjastus 2000 (= Eesti Entsüklopeedia 14) ISBN 9985-70-064-3 , pp. 177f.
• Ken Kalling: Rector Henrik Koppel . Tallinn 2007 ( ISBN 9789985983324 )

Web links

• Works by Heinrich Koppel in the holdings of the Estonian National Library in Tallinn
• Biobibliographical information