Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: The King’s-Evil and sensory experience in Richard Wiseman’s Severall Chirurgicall Treatises

  • Heinrich Schliemann, the archeologist who excavated Troy

    Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890) explored and excavated the ruins of Troy, connecting them with the Homeric epics. His life was marked by relentless determination, linguistic genius, and a fascination with antiquity. Born in 1822 in Neubukow, Germany, Schliemann grew up in modest circumstances as the son… Read more

  • Jacques Boucher de Perthes: Scholar of prehistoric man

    Jacques-Louis Boucher de Perthes (1788–1868) revolutionized our understanding of human antiquity through his discoveries of flint tools associated with extinct animal remains in the Somme Valley. These findings challenged prevailing notions about the short chronology of humanity and laid the groundwork for modern prehistoric studies.… Read more

  • Johann Joachim Winckelmann: Father of art history

    Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768) was an art historian who revolutionized how we understand, categorize, and appreciate ancient art. His aesthetic theories on ancient Greek profoundly influenced European culture, literature, and philosophy. Born in Stendal, Brandenburg, he grew up in poverty as a thin, pale, and… Read more

  • William Flinders Petrie: Champion of scientific archaeology 

    Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853–1942) brought revolutionary change to the study of antiquity by introducing strict excavation protocols and detailed documentation practices. He started his career at the age of nineteen by surveying Stonehenge and producing its first reliable site plan. The Egypt Exploration Fund employed him… Read more

  • Flavio Biondo, papal secretary and humanist scholar 

    Throughout much of the fifteenth century, Flavio Biondo (1392–1463) thrived as a humanist scholar, historian, and antiquarian, establishing the foundations of archaeological and geographical historical research. Born in Forlì, Romagna, in 1392, he began his studies as a notary before moving to Rome in 1433. There he served as papal… Read more

  • Sir Arthur Evans: Archaeology visionary

    Sir Arthur Evans (1851–1941) achieved lasting fame by discovering the Minoan civilization in Crete. Through his systematic Knossos excavations and his later interpretations, he revolutionized our knowledge about European prehistory and societal evolution. Born 1851, in Nash Mills, Hertfordshire, he studied modern history at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he developed an interest in… Read more

  • The Semmelweis Museum of Medical History, Budapest

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, England Museums on medical themes are uncommon and generally scattered worldwide. Budapest features the Semmelweis Museum, dedicated to one of Hungary’s greatest physicians and the history of medical advances in Hungary. It is the birthplace and childhood home of Ignaz Semmelweis, born… Read more

  • Below deck and breathless: Pneumonia’s toll on seafarers

    Richard de GrijsSydney, Australia In the tight, damp quarters of historical tall ships on the open sea, pneumonia was a common occurrence. More than just an unfortunate illness, it was often a death sentence, preying upon the weakened and crowded bodies of sailors, soldiers, convicts,… Read more

  • Brushstrokes and benevolence: Thomas Sully, Samuel Coates, and the Pennsylvania Hospital

    Sally MetzlerChicago, Illinois, United States Artist Thomas Sully was born in 1783 in the remote English village of Horcastle, but he would gain fame and fortune in the city where the greatest minds came together to sign the United States Constitution: Philadelphia. Lauded as the… Read more

  • Caravaggio: Beauty and crime intertwined

    Born in Milan in 1571 and orphaned by the plague in 1577, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio made his way to Rome in 1592, where he enrolled the lowlife of the city, its prostitutes, thieves, and other undesirables, in order to paint the Virgin Mary, Jesus,… Read more

  • Titian: The mastery of color and the perils of paint

    Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/90–1576) hailed from Pieve di Cadore, near Venice. He trained first in the workshop of the mosaicist Sebastiano Zuccato and subsequently with the acclaimed Giovanni Bellini, while his close relationship and collaboration with the influential Giorgione greatly shaped his early style. Titian’s… Read more

  • The Pickering-Platt debate

    JMS PearceHull, England Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC–43 BC), statesman, scholar, and philosopher once said: If no use is made of the labours of past ages, the world must remain always in the infancy of knowledge. It may therefore be worthwhile to recollect the aspects… Read more