Citation

Friedrich C. An. R. Acad. Nac. Med. (Madr) 2014; 80(3): 600-613.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Real Academia Nacional De Medicina)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper offers an overview on famous pharmacists who became well-known as poets or novelists, performing artists or musicians. In the 18th and 19th centuries, we find pharmacists as writers of natural-scientific works, but also of poetry and literature, such as Johann Bartholomäus Trommsdorff (1770-1837), who also wrote fairy tales. Other pharmacists published autobiographies and travelogues. Among the poets coming from a pharmacist background is Ludwig Bechstein (1801-1860), who set his mark on literature history by writing fairy tales, poems, historical novels and travelogues. A writer of world ranking was Theodor Fontane (1819-1898), son of a pharmacist, who started his pharmaceutical education in Berlin. In his autobiographical works as well as in his novel "Effi Briest", he also writes about pharmacists. Another one of his novels, "'All Kinds of Luck'", in which a pharmacist is the protagonist, remained fragmentary. Among the poets who came from a pharmaceutical background is also the dramatist and novelist Hermann Sudermann (1857-1928), whose "Lithuanian Stories" and his novel "Lady Sorrow" are read in Germany even today. In his autobiography he recounts his education in a pharmacy. The expressionist lyricist Georg Trakl (1887-1914) was also a pharmacist, he studied pharmacy in Vienna and worked as a military pharmacist. At the beginning of the First World War, he committed suicide. Along with pharmacists who painted the illustrations for their scientific works themselves, Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885) and Behrend Goos (1815-1885) became the most famous representatives. But also on the musical field some pharmacists became known such as Eduard Lucerna (1869-1944), who wrote an opera, ten symphonies, chamber music and songs. Heinz Höhne (1892-1968) composed the song "High on the Yellow Chariot" which became one of the most popular songs in Germany. Finally, there are also some famous singers coming from the pharmacist profession. Thus, pharmacists marked the cultural life in Germany to some extent.

Language: en

Keywords

literature; human; Germany; education; pharmacist; Pharmacists; writing; Article; life history; musician; Cultural life; German history; visual artist