Philipp Bozzini

What the film says

• A young doctor in Frankfurt who, early in the nineteenth century, asked why the inside of the body could not simply be looked at.

  Watch 38:41 in the film VIII. Light

• Too poor to travel, he sent his instrument to Vienna, where the army academy praised it and the University faculty did not.

  Watch 39:43 in the film VIII. Light

• Died of typhus in 1809, aged 35, after an epidemic in which 42 of his patients are recorded as recovering.

  Watch 40:16 in the film VIII. Light

On the timeline

• 10 May 1803: Frankfurt admits Bozzini as a citizen, having first refused him because his means were small. timeline
• 1804: Bozzini shows the Lichtleiter publicly for the first time, in Frankfurt. timeline
• 7 February 1805: An announcement of the Lichtleiter appears in the Kaiserlich privilegirter Reichs-Anzeiger. timeline
• 18 June 1805: Bozzini sends a description to Archduke Karl; through him the Emperor has an instrument bought and examined in Vienna. timeline
• 1806: Bozzini's article on the Lichtleiter appears in Hufeland's Journal der practischen Arzneykunde und Wundarzneykunst, vol. 24, pp. 107-124. timeline
• 1806: Bozzini demonstrates the instrument on living patients at Froriep's maternity institute in Halle; after a vaginal inspection Froriep orders a Lichtleiter of his own. timeline
• November 1806: The Lichtleiter reaches the Josephinum in Vienna, requested by its director, Anton von Beinl. timeline
• 9 December 1806: Cadaver demonstration at the Josephinum before a large gathering; the instrument is found to meet every expectation. timeline
• 1807: The University of Vienna medical faculty rejects the Lichtleiter; the wording of its verdict is disputed. timeline
• 28 March 1807: Bozzini publishes a reply to the Vienna faculty's remarks in the Allgemeiner Anzeiger der Deutschen. timeline
• 1807: Bozzini's folio monograph Der Lichtleiter, with copper engravings, is published in Weimar. timeline
• 19 May 1808: Bozzini is appointed Physicus extraordinarius in Frankfurt, on Dalberg's recommendation. timeline
• 4 April 1809: Bozzini dies of typhus in Frankfurt, aged 35, after an epidemic in which he is recorded as saving 42 patients. timeline
• 1865: Morell Mackenzie names the Lichtleiter the first laryngoscope, an early recognition of Bozzini. timeline
• 1945: Bozzini's original Lichtleiter disappears from Vienna; the circumstances are unknown. probable timeline
• 1954-1955: Bozzini's epitaph on the outer wall of Frankfurt Cathedral's choir is rediscovered (restored in 2006). probable timeline
• 2002 (2001 in one source): Bozzini's original Lichtleiter, found in the basement of the American College of Surgeons in Chicago, is returned to Vienna. disputed timeline

Sources