Johann Peter Frank (1745 - 1821). Wanderer zwischen den Welten, Wegbereiter der Sozialmedizin und Dermatologie

Abstract

Johann Peter Frank (1745 - 1821) was born in Rodalben, a small town in the Palatinate Forest (Pfalzer Wald). He had an impressive career as a physician at the turn of the 18 th to the 19 th century. Stations of his appointments were Baden-Baden, Rastatt, Gottingen, Pavia, Vienna, Wilna (Vilnius), St. Petersburg, and again Vienna. Frank is considered the founder of social medicine and public health, also structuring the organisations of doctors and apothecaries. Finally, he had an impact on dermatology. He seems to be forgotten in dermatology, however, the Johann-Peter-Frank-Gesellschaft (Society) honours persons with a medal for their achievement in public health. Frank wrote many books which were translated into several European languages. His son Josef Frank (1771 - 1842), also a physician, published a respectable book on dermatology.