Leyden, Ernst Victor von (ennobled 1896)

Internist

Born: 20.04.1832 in Danzig (today Gdańsk, Poland)

died: 05.10.1910 in Berlin

Leyden studied medicine at the Berlin Medical and Surgical Academy for the Military (Friedrich Wilhelm Institute since 1818) and qualified as a professor in Berlin in 1863. He became a full professor at the University of Königsberg in 1965 and in Strasbourg in 1872. In 1876 he became head of the Charité's propaedeutic clinic and was appointed professor at the university. From 1885 to 1907 he was Director of the First Medical Clinic of the Charité.

Over 700 publications in various fields of medicine made Leyden a world-renowned doctor, and his work on spinal cord diseases in particular caused a sensation. However, he also dealt with organizational issues of patient treatment and provided better training for nurses at the Charité, as he had recognized their great importance for the recovery process. Leyden's patients included Bismarck, the Shah of Persia, Emperor Frederick III and Tsar Alexander III.

In 1895, he was involved in the founding of the "Central Committee for the Establishment of Lung Sanatoriums in Germany", and his reputation provided this institution with considerable financial resources. In 1903, he opened the first cancer department at the Charité. In Wiesbaden, he was a founding member of the Congress of Internists, whose idea had been developed by him. As its president in 1886 and 1887, he campaigned for the scientific validation of medical treatment. He also served as president of the congress in 1891 and 1897. A street in Wiesbaden bears his name.