Jakob Christoph Scherb

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Jakob Christoph Scherb (born August 26, 1736 in Bischofszell ; † March 1, 1811 there ) was a Swiss politician and pioneer of smallpox vaccination .

Life

Jakob Christoph Scherb, son of the doctor Hans Georg Scherb and Anna Barbara Nüscheler, was encouraged early on by his parents, who recognized him as a talented child. He received lessons in Greek, Latin, metaphysics and literature. At the age of fifteen, Scherb moved to Zurich, where he attended public and private classes in mathematics, physics and medicine. He completed his medical studies in Leiden, Berlin and Tübingen. In Montpellier he completed his medical studies with a doctorate and then took over the medical practice of his father Johann Georg Scherb (1706–1757), who had since died. Like Simon-Auguste Tissot, Scherb is considered a pioneer of the smallpox vaccination because he vaccinated over 1,000 children and published the knowledge he gained under the title About the inoculation of smallpox . At that time, he used a new approach as a doctor, because instead of prescribing pills and mixtures, he primarily insisted on hygiene, which he understood as fresh air as well as cleanliness and personal hygiene. He made this known to the general public by rewriting a medical guide by Tissot and Unzer, written in complex terms, in a more accessible form. In 1783 he published these instructions under the title "Brief instructions on maintaining and restoring health insofar as both can be preserved without medical help", one of the first popular scientific publications in Switzerland. Scherb was married to Rosina Sturzenegger in his first marriage, to Katharina Barbara Zwinger in his second marriage, and when he died left behind six daughters and six sons.

Political stations

From 1768 on the town council of Bischofszell, 30 years later he handed the practice over to his son and was elected Swiss Senator in 1798. Further political stations:

  • from 1798 to 1803 district governor of Bischofszell
  • 1802 Vice-President of the second interim government of the Canton of Thurgau
  • from 1798 to 1799 president of the first sanitary commission
  • from 1804 to 1805 president of the interim medical commission
  • from 1805 to 1807 President of the Medical Council
  • from 1803 to 1807 Thurgau's government councilor - during this time (1806) he ordered smallpox vaccinations to be carried out

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bischofszeller sexes , family overview on Scherb, Jakob Christoph


personal data
SURNAME Scherb, Jakob Christoph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 26, 1736
PLACE OF BIRTH Bischofszell
DATE OF DEATH March 1, 1811
Place of death Bischofszell