Aloys Martin (1818-1891) "Trailblazer of anesthesia". An addendum to his life and influence

Abstract

Alloys Martin has recently been called "a pioneer of surgical anaesthesia in Germany" [41]. This gave rise to an investigation into further aspects of his professional and private biography and the social as well as political context. Documents in archives and relevant medical and historical literature relating to the objectives were surveyed and analyzed. In 1848 the anaesthesiological articles Martin had been contributing came to an end. He then worked as a university lecturer and professor at the University of Munich, as an official forensic and charity physician as well as in medical practice in Munich. Among other things, he published diverse articles on the schematism of Bavarian civilian and military physicians, on infectious diseases and edited scientific journals. As a founder and editor of the Bayerisches ärztliches intelligenzblatt (Bavarian Medical Information Newspaper), renamed the Münchner Medizinische Wochenschrift (Munich Medical Weekly Journal) in 1886, he guided the publication to a central position in a medical community just developing professional status. Martin was also the founder and for many years the chairman of societies for voluntary medical assistance to the poor and the Froebel kindergartens in Munich. Although he himself was of lower class origin and under pressure from conservative circles at the university and ministry due to his liberal political views, his life and works bear witness to his own effective emancipation and rise into the "Bildungsbürgertum" (educated class) of the 19th century. Alloys Martin is a historical figure in anaesthesiology. In his function of promoting the professionalization of the whole Bavarian medical community, he also ranks highly. In view of his self-abnegating medical service devoted to the common good, he may still today be considered an example.