WHO WAS EMIL KRAEPELIN AND WHY DO WE REMEMBER HIM 160 YEARS LATER?

Abstract

Usually, Wilhelm Magnus Georg (1856-1926) is identified as the founder of modern scientific psychiatry (Decker 2004, Engstrom & Kendler 2015, Healy, Harris, Farquhar, Tschinkel, & Le Noury 2008, Hippius & Mueller 2008, Hoff 1994, Jablensky, Hugler, Voncranach, & Kalinov 1993, Steinberg 2015). However, it took some time to recognize Kraepelin's other contributions to many other areas such as psychopharmacology (Muller, Fletcher, & Steinberg 2006, Saarma & Vahing 1976, Schmied, Steinberg, & Sykes 2006, Vahing & Mehilane 1990), sleep research (Becker, Steinberg, & Kluge 2016) and (Eysenck & Frith 1977, Steinberg 2015). Although was born 160 years ago, his works have still been cited with a frequency, which makes him one of the most influential psychiatrists of all times. He was only 30 years old when he delivered his inaugural speech Die Richtungen der psychiatrischen Forschung On different approaches/schools in psychiatric research/ in the Assembly Hall (Aula) of the of Dorpat, nowadays known as the of Tartu, Estonia. In order to commemorate Kraepelin's 160th birthdate and the 130th year from his first professorship, a conference Emil 160/130 was held in the same Aula where 130 years earlier expressed his views about explanations of psychiatric illnesses (Engstrom & Kendler 2015). conference was organized jointly by the Institute of Psychology and the Faculty of Medicine, of Tartu and the Estonian Academy of Sciences. organizing committee consisted of Juri Allik, Erki Tammiksaar, Urmas Varblane, Toomas Asser, and Kirsti Akkermann. following talks were presented on February 19, 2016: Wolfgang Drechsler (Tallinn of Technology) Opening words Eric J. Engstrom (Humboldt of Berlin) Emil Kraepelin's Inaugural Lecture: Contexts and Legacies Juri Allik (University of Tartu) Emil and the emergence of experimental psychology Frank Gruner and Maike Rotzoll (University of Heidelberg) The of Dorpat as a Transit Space for Psychiatric Knowledge? and the Concept of Melancholy Erki Tammiksaar (University of Tartu) University of Dorpat at the time of Kraepelin Nils Hansson (University of Cologne) The godfather of European psychiatry and no prize: Tracing in the Nobel Prize archive Ken Kalling (University of Tartu) Emil Kraepelin's successor Prof. V. Chizh and criminal anthropology at the of Dorpat. This special issue is composed of talks that were held at the conference Emil 160/130. However, the papers in this special issue are in most cases much more elaborated versions of the presented talks. One reason for the progress were stimulating discussions between participants during and after the conference. In this introduction, we remember some basic facts about Kraepelin's life and the impact he made in various areas, not only in psychiatry. We also try to create a context into which papers presented in this special issue of Trames can be placed. Biographical facts (also Krapelin) was born on the 15th of February 1856 in Neusterlitz, which belonged to the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz at the time. Thus, in the year 2016 we are celebrating his 160th birthday to say nothing about 90 years from his death. His father, Karl Wilhelm (1817-1882), was a former opera singer and, later, a music teacher. He also had a brother Karl (1848-1915) who was 10 years older and who became the director of the Zoological Museum of Hamburg. After completing the local high school, began his medical studies at the Leipzig in 1874. Under the guidance of Paul Flechsig (1847-1929) and Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) he studied neuropathology but also experimental even before it was recognized as an independent discipline of science. …