Born: August 12, 1762; Died: August 25, 1836
Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland was born on August 12, 1762 in Bad Langensalza (Thuringia) into a family of doctors. He studied medicine in Jena and later in Weimar. In 1783, he joined his father's extensive practice, initially assisting him and later running it independently until 1801. Hufeland was in close contact with Goethe, Herder, Schiller and Wieland. They consulted him regularly.
In 1792, Hufeland gave a lecture on organic living at Goethe's "Freitagsgesellschaft", from his work on macrobiotics (the art of achieving longevity, i.e. macrobiosis, through an appropriate lifestyle). This lecture attracted the applause and interest of the Saxon Duke Karl August (1757-1828): "Hufeland is fit for a professor; I want to transfer him to Jena", said the regent, and a year later Hufeland was appointed professor in Jena.
In 1897, Hufeland's main work "The Art of Prolonging Human Life" was published - also known by the acronym "Macrobiotics"! This work made Hufeland world-famous. It describes a balance between asceticism and feasting, because "all extremes prevent the prolongation of life". Hufeland had focused his entire life and work on providing people with the best possible quality of life for those times through a healthy lifestyle. Hufeland's naturopathic and dietetic principles (dietetics = the science of a healthy lifestyle) still have an impact on the ecological movement of our time.
In 1800, Hufeland was appointed to the Prussian capital and royal seat of Berlin. From 1795, he published the "Journal der practischen Arzneykunde und Wundarzneykunst". In it, he gave disinterested and impartial advice to doctors from a wide range of specialties in a forum for and against the innovations of teachings that were still widely rejected at the time, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, vaccination and hydropathy. Hufeland saw these therapies as a valuable addition to the existing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. In 1801, Hufeland became royal physician in Berlin, director of the Collegium medico-chirurgicum and first physician of the Charité.
The University of Berlin was opened in 1810. Hufeland was appointed professor of special pathology and therapy. He held this position until his death. He also headed the military academy and, as a state councillor, the health department in the Ministry of the Interior.
Hufeland can be described as one of the fathers of naturopathy. He repeatedly criticized the naturopathic doctor in comparison to the so-called conventional physician. His statement is legendary: "The naturopath wants to be nothing more than a servant of nature - the conventional physician, on the other hand, has put himself in the place of nature and wants to be its master." Hufeland saw himself as a helper of the healing power of nature, made use of all the methods he found useful and thus did not adhere to any particular system. However, he strictly rejected the teachings of Franz Mesmer (1734-1815), who had dedicated himself to animal magnetism, or mesmerism.
Despite his numerous medical commitments - he visited up to 40 patients a day in addition to his university work - and his social duties, Hufeland found time for a body of work comprising over 400 writings. Many of them were written in a very generally understandable way.
The great physician, eclectic, health politician and university lecturer was laid to rest in the Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof cemetery in Berlin-Mitte.