Dietrich Georg von Kieser

Dietrich Georg von Kieser (24 August 1779 – 11 October 1862)^[1] was a German physician born in Harburg.

He studied medicine at the Universities of Würzburg and Göttingen, receiving his doctorate from the latter institution in 1804. In 1806 he was named Stadt- und Landphysikus (city physician) of Northeim. For most of his career he was a professor at the University of Jena, where from 1824 to 1862 he served as a "full professor".^[2][3]

He was an advocate of balneology, and beginning in 1813 was a physician at the therapeutic spas at Heilbad Berka/Ilm. While working as a professor at the University of Jena, Kieser operated a private ophthalmology clinic from 1831 to 1847, and from 1847 until 1858 he was director of the mental hospital in Jena.^[4]

With Adam von Eschenmayer and Christian Friedrich Nasse, he published the 12-volume Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus ("Archive for animal magnetism").^[3] Kieser was politically active throughout his career; in October 1817 with philosophers Lorenz Oken and Jakob Friedrich Fries, he partook in the historic Wartburg Festival.^[5] In 1858 he was named president of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina.^[4] He died in Jena.

A magnesium sulfate mineral known as kieserite is named after him.^[6]

• Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus (Archive for animal magnetism); (1817 ff).
• Elemente der Physiatrik (Elements of the physiatric); (1855).

This was the first textbook illustrated with photographs.^[7]

• Grundzüge der Anatomie der Pflanzen (General outline of plant anatomy); (1815).
• Grundzüge der Pathologie und Therapie des Menschen (General outline of pathology and therapy of humans); (1812).
• Über die Emancipation des Verbrechers im Kerker (On the emancipation of the criminal in prison); (1845).
• Von den Leidenschaften und Affecten (1848).