Kaspar Pischel

Kaspar Pischel (born January 4, 1862 in Jenbach , Tyrol , † April 9, 1953 in San Francisco ) was an Austro-American ophthalmologist. In 1888 he emigrated to California in the USA.

Kaspar Pischel's father was Nikolaus Pischel. He came from a well-known family in Telfs in Tyrol. Nikolaus was the landlord in the gorge on the old road to Lake Achensee . Kaspar's mother was called Agnes Speckbacher. Kaspar attended grammar school in Innsbruck and began studying medicine after briefly studying theology at the University of Innsbruck . He was able to finance his studies with scholarships and received his doctorate on November 13, 1886.

He began his training as an ophthalmologist with Michael Borysiekiewicz at the Innsbruck University Hospital. He spent a few years of his training with Ernst Fuchs at the University Clinic in Vienna. The eye department at the Salzburg State Hospital was advertised for occupation, Kaspar Pischel applied, but the Minister's favorite was preferred. Pischel then saw no future in Austria. In 1888 he decided to emigrate to the USA

During this time, several visitors from abroad were at the Innsbruck Eye Clinic. Pischel learned the English language. At that time, the ophthalmologist Hermann Knapp, who had immigrated from Heidelberg, was in New York and recommended Kaspar Pischel to go to California. He then came to Alma House in San Francisco in 1890, later worked in the French Hospital, St. Lucas Hospital and Stanford University . He was particularly dedicated to teaching students. He received international recognition through his appointment as a member of the Commonwealth Club and the Sierra Club . Kaspar Pischel married Minna Dohrmann, who came from Schleswig-Holstein. His son Dohrmann Kaspar Pischel became a well-known ophthalmologist in the USA who dealt primarily with the surgical treatment of retinal detachment. Relatives of the Pischel family live in Telfs.

Source and literature

• Jenbach baptismal register: Tiroler Landesarchiv, microfilm no. 712, Jenbach, 4th baptism, marriage and death book 1830–1864, p. 113:
• Michał Borosykiewicz: [1]
• Michael Borosykiewicz, in: Franz Daxecker , 125 years of the University Eye Clinic Innsbruck. 1869-1994. Your board members. Publications from the University of Innsbruck. Ed. University of Innsbruck (1994), p. 19.
• Hermann Knapp: [2]
• Franz Daxecker , Kaspar Pischel and Dohrmann Kaspar Pischel - two American ophthalmologists with Tyrolean roots. In: Clinical monthly sheets for ophthalmology (Klin Mbl Augenheilk) 221, 210–211 (2004).

Web links

• Kaspar Pischel in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Pubmed: [3] (publications 24 to 30)