Dr. Christian Charles Schieferdecker (born 1810)

Carl Georg Gottlob Nittinger (also Karl Georg Gottlob Nittinger or Gottlob Nittinger ; * 23 November 1807 in Bietigheim ; † 8 March 1874 in Stuttgart ) was a German physician and anti-vaccination activist .

Table of contents

Life[ Edit | Edit source ]

Nittinger was orphaned at an early age . He attended the school in his hometown as well as the Latin school in Nürtingen . As he was unable to study theology due to his lack of money , he went to the teacher training college in Esslingen , where he received a good education in the natural sciences from the local professor , Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter . After his training as a teaching assistant, he was hired by Wilhelm Friedrich Philipp von Württemberg as a private tutor at his castle in Stetten im Remstal . There he taught the later poet Alexander Christian Friedrich von Württemberg, among others . In addition, thanks to Wilhelm's interest in the natural sciences, he was able to continue to devote himself to self-study of the natural sciences and medicine.

Nittinger initially accepted a position as a teacher at the English-French Institute in Frankfurt am Main . However, with the support of his family-in-law, he was able to transfer to the University of Heidelberg in 1832 , where he began studying medicine. From there he went to the University of Würzburg , where he received his doctorate in medicine in 1835 with his dissertation "De statu putrido cum febre" . In the 1834 season he was already working as deputy spa doctor in Kissingen .

In 1836, Nittinger set out on a journey through Europe, staying in Vienna for a long time and supporting Carl von Rokitansky in the fight against the cholera that had broken out there. He also encountered cholera in northern Italy and Munich . From 1837, he continued his training in surgery in Strasbourg and Paris . He then wanted to accompany an expedition led by Johann Jakob von Tschudi , but due to a serious illness he had to return from Lisbon to Württemberg.

In 1839, Nittinger settled in Stuttgart-Berg as a doctor . There he quickly became very popular as a doctor. He acquired a mineral spring and also opened a bathing establishment . He also became involved in public life, became a board member of the Stuttgart Liederkranz and appeared publicly as a musician and composer. In 1840 he became an affiliate of the Stuttgart Masonic Lodge "zu den 3 Cedern". [1]

Although Nittinger stayed out of the revolutions of 1848/1849 , from 1848 onwards he made a name for himself as an opponent of vaccination. He first published on this in the press and the brochures Darf weiter Impfwerden? and Das Württembergische Impfgesetz ( Can vaccinations be continued?) which were also printed in Stuttgart in 1848. In the period that followed he presented his views at conferences in France, England, Italy, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Germany, including at the Congrès scientifique de France in Rade de Cherbourg , and published extensively on this topic. His writings were increasingly polemical, and his theses were sometimes considered daring and, by the end of his life, some of them were already outdated. His work in Württemberg politics was unsuccessful.

Works (selection)[ Edit | Edit source ]

Status putridus cum febre , Becker, Würzburg 1835.
On the 50-year vaccination poisoning of the Württemberg people , 2 volumes, Hallberger, Stuttgart 1850–1852.
The Black Book of Vaccination: Testimonies and Facts , Brauns, Leipzig 1859.
The Medical Concordat , Schaber, Stuttgart 1861.
God and Idol or the Vaccination Witch , Schaber, Stuttgart 1863.
The state magic of vaccination and the poor health conditions of the population before the Chamber of Deputies of Württemberg or What is truth? , Brauns, Leipzig 1866.

literature[ Edit | Edit source ]

Paul Beck : Nittinger, Gottlob . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 23, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1886, pp. 715–718.
Nittinger, Karl Georg Gottlob . In: Rudolf Vierhaus (ed.): German Biographical Encyclopedia . 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Volume 7 : Menghin–Pötel . De Gruyter, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-094026-8 , p. 484 ( books.google.com ).