page_title: Gesellschaft der Ärzte in Wien
section_title: Beginnings of the Gesellschaft der Ärzte in Wien
hierarchical_section_title: Gesellschaft der Ärzte in Wien / History / Beginnings of the Gesellschaft der Ärzte in Wien
caption_attribution_description: English: Austria, Vienna, University of Vienna &#160; This media shows the protected monument with the number 119587 in Austria. (Commons, de, Wikidata) Русский: Австрия, Вена, Венский университет Deutsch: Österreich, Wien, Universität Wien Français&#160;: Autriche, Vienne, Université de Vienne
context_page_description: Gesellschaft der Ärzte in Wien is a medical society with a long-standing tradition in Austria. Its principal task is the continuing education of medical practitioners. The society's headquarter is the Billrothhaus in the 9th district of Vienna.
  The organization's main task is the education of medics and the presentation of new scientific findings in the field of medicine. For this purpose, the Gesellschaft der Ärzte organizes scientific events, runs a library and publishes educational videos.
  The physician Helmut Sinzinger was the latest president of the organization. He died at the beginning of 2020.
context_section_description: Franz Wirer and Ludwig Türkheim, who both were rectors at the University, are considered "the founding fathers" of the organization; however, this was not possible until the privy councilor Andreas Joseph von Stifft, who was against the creation of the society, died. Their main goal by creating the Gesellschaft der Ärzte was to promote the health sciences as art and science, prior to the goals of the Ärztevereinigung. Additionally, they hoped to use it as a platform to formulate their response to the ongoing cholera epidemic.
  Over time, their objectives changed. In 1839, the society changed its focus to promoting drug sciences. The foundation of the Royal Academy of Sciences ("Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften") in 1847 also helped to promote the medical sciences. While the theoretical subjects such as physics, chemistry, anatomy and biology were discussed in the Academy and published in its journal "Denkschrift", the College of Physicians focused on pathology, experimental anatomy, medical chemistry and, in particular, clinical medicine. It is due to the influence of the academy and the college that the faculty of medicine broadened their limited scope beyond medical education and focused increasingly on science and research.
  In 1837, the foundation of the society was finally officially approved. The charter members were of course Franz Wirer and Ludwig Turkheim, as well as Johann Malfatti, the general practitioners Gerhard Brants and Joseph von Vering, the director of the general hospital Franz Xaver Güntner, the professor of pathology and pharmacy Leopold Franz Hermann, the climatologist Rudolph von Vivenot, the president of the faculty Johann Nepomuk von Raimann and the professors of the Josephinic Academy Friedrich Jäger von Jaxtthal and Ignaz Rudolf Bischoff.
  The first president was Johann Malfatti, who was succeeded by Franz Wirer in 1841. The number of members was at first regulated to a maximum of 40 but raised over time (100 members in 1839, 200 members in 1859).
  One of the goals of the society was to establish and nurture a library. Today, it has one of the largest private medical-scientific book collections in the world. The first librarian of the yet-to-be-built library, circa 1840, was the district physician Hermann Hieronymus Beer. The first significant contribution was made by the second president of the society, Franz Wirer, who bequeathed his private book collection to the Gesellschaft der Ärzte after his death.
  All the scientific meetings of the society where documented and published in "Zeitschrift der k.k. Gesellschaft der Ärzte" and later in "Wiener klinische Wochenschrift".
  Under the presidency of Franz Wirer, the members were divided into four sections: pharmacology, pathology, hygiene and therapy. The members were free to choose their affiliation. This compartmentalization led to an increased number of meetings, as many as 45 per year. After the disbanding of the sections, the frequency decreased to 25 to 35 meetings per year.
caption: Assembly hall of the old University of Vienna: the first headquarter of the Gesellschaft der Ärzte – today it is the headquarter of the Academy of Sciences.
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