Johann Baptist Malfatti von Monteregio
Encyclopedia
Johann Baptist Malfatti, Edler
von Monteregio baptized as Giovanni Domenico Antonio Malfatti (June 12, 1775 in Lucca – Sept. 12, 1859 in Hietzing near Vienna) was an Italian/Austrian doctor famous for treating the composer Ludwig van Beethoven
.
in Bologna and Johann Peter Frank
in Pavia whom he followed to Vienna in 1795 and with whom he competed as the secondary doctor at the Vienna general hospital. He finished his training in 1787 and founded the society of general practitioners in 1802 and founded his own practice in 1804. In 1809 he published his work of natural philosphy, "Draft pathogeny of Evolution and Revolution of Life."
During the Congress of Vienna
he enjoyed an excellent reputation and became the personal physician of Archduke Karl
and Archduchess Maria Beatrice d'Este of Modena. On December 31, 1821 he married Polish countess Helena Ostrowska (1794–1826). In 1822 the couple bore their first daughter and the Archduchess served as Godmother. The archduchess also granted him a pension for life. In 1830 he was also consulted by Franz, Duke of Reichstadt ("Napoleon II"). His house on Küniglberg, a hill in Heitzing, now a suburb of Vienna, inspired Malfatti to take the title, "Count of Monteregio," and he was awarded this title on April 10, 1837 for his contributions to medical science.
Ludwig van Beethoven first made Malfatti's acquaintance in 180 and consulted him several times in the following years. In 1811, Malfatti advised Beethoven to take a cure in Teplitz. Beethoven composed his cantata WoO 103 Un lieto brindisi for the Malfatti's name day celebration on June 24, 1814 held at Malfatti's house in Vienna's Weinhaus neighborhood. In 1817 the relationship suffered a rupture on account of Beethoven's frequent mistrust of others. Beethoven only consulted with Malfatti ten years later during his last illness, but the Malfatti did not meet Beethoven's hopes for a cure.
Malfatti brought, together with his colleague Franz von Wirer
, promoted the development of the great Austrian spas such as Bad Ischl
and Bad Vöslau
. He engaged in personal contact with the philosophers Franz Xaver von Baader
and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
, the naturalist Lorenz Oken
, and the medical philosopher Ignaz Paul Vital Troxler
.
He was buried in an honored grave in the Heitzinger cemetery, and the Malfattisteig in Vienna's Hietzing is named for him.
Edler
Edler was until 1919 the lowest title of nobility in Austria-Hungary and Germany, just beneath a Ritter, but above nobles without title who used only the preposition von before their surname. It was mostly given to civil servants and military officers, as well as those upon whom the second rank of...
von Monteregio baptized as Giovanni Domenico Antonio Malfatti (June 12, 1775 in Lucca – Sept. 12, 1859 in Hietzing near Vienna) was an Italian/Austrian doctor famous for treating the composer Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
.
Life
Son of a merchant, he studied medicine with Luigi GalvaniLuigi Galvani
Luigi Aloisio Galvani was an Italian physician and physicist who lived and died in Bologna. In 1791, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs legs twitched when struck by a spark...
in Bologna and Johann Peter Frank
Johann Peter Frank
Johann Peter Frank was a German physician and hygienist who was a native of Rodalben.He studied medicine at the Universities of Strasbourg and Heidelberg, and earned his medical doctorate in 1766. He was professor at the Universities of Pavia and Göttingen, and for a period of time was personal...
in Pavia whom he followed to Vienna in 1795 and with whom he competed as the secondary doctor at the Vienna general hospital. He finished his training in 1787 and founded the society of general practitioners in 1802 and founded his own practice in 1804. In 1809 he published his work of natural philosphy, "Draft pathogeny of Evolution and Revolution of Life."
During the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
he enjoyed an excellent reputation and became the personal physician of Archduke Karl
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
and Archduchess Maria Beatrice d'Este of Modena. On December 31, 1821 he married Polish countess Helena Ostrowska (1794–1826). In 1822 the couple bore their first daughter and the Archduchess served as Godmother. The archduchess also granted him a pension for life. In 1830 he was also consulted by Franz, Duke of Reichstadt ("Napoleon II"). His house on Küniglberg, a hill in Heitzing, now a suburb of Vienna, inspired Malfatti to take the title, "Count of Monteregio," and he was awarded this title on April 10, 1837 for his contributions to medical science.
Ludwig van Beethoven first made Malfatti's acquaintance in 180 and consulted him several times in the following years. In 1811, Malfatti advised Beethoven to take a cure in Teplitz. Beethoven composed his cantata WoO 103 Un lieto brindisi for the Malfatti's name day celebration on June 24, 1814 held at Malfatti's house in Vienna's Weinhaus neighborhood. In 1817 the relationship suffered a rupture on account of Beethoven's frequent mistrust of others. Beethoven only consulted with Malfatti ten years later during his last illness, but the Malfatti did not meet Beethoven's hopes for a cure.
Malfatti brought, together with his colleague Franz von Wirer
Franz von Wirer
Franz de Paula Augustin Wirer Ritter von Rettenbach was an Austrian physician who was a native of Korneuburg in Lower Austria. He was a physician to Austrian royalty, a rector at the University of Vienna and instructor at the Vienna Medical School.Wirer was an advocate of holistic medicine, and in...
, promoted the development of the great Austrian spas such as Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden Ahorn, Bad Ischl, Haiden, Jainzen, Kaltenbach, Lauffen, Lindau, Pfandl, Perneck, Reiterndorf and Rettenbach...
and Bad Vöslau
Bad Vöslau
Bad Vöslau is a spa town the Lower Austria federal state of Austria. It is also known as the cradle of the Austrian red wine cultivation. Population : 11,190.- History :...
. He engaged in personal contact with the philosophers Franz Xaver von Baader
Franz Xaver von Baader
Franz Xaver von Baader was a German Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian.-Life:He was born in Munich, the third son of F. P. Baader, court physician to the Prince-elector of Bavaria. His brothers were both distinguished — the elder, Clemens, as an author; the second, Joseph , as an...
and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling , later von Schelling, was a German philosopher. Standard histories of philosophy make him the midpoint in the development of German idealism, situating him between Fichte, his mentor prior to 1800, and Hegel, his former university roommate and erstwhile friend...
, the naturalist Lorenz Oken
Lorenz Oken
Lorenz Oken was a German naturalist.Oken was born Lorenz Okenfuss in Bohlsbach in Baden and studied natural history and medicine at the universities of Freiburg and Würzburg. He went on to the University of Göttingen, where he became a Privatdozent , and shortened his name to Oken...
, and the medical philosopher Ignaz Paul Vital Troxler
Ignaz Paul Vital Troxler
Ignaz Paul Vital Troxler was a Swiss physician, politician, and philosopher.Troxler studied in Jena and Göttingen...
.
He was buried in an honored grave in the Heitzinger cemetery, and the Malfattisteig in Vienna's Hietzing is named for him.
Writings
- Entwurf einer Pathogenie aus der Evolution und Revolution des Lebens. Vienna 1809.
- Studien über Anarchie und Hierarchie des Wissens mit besonderer Beziehung auf die Medicin. Leipzig 1845, Paris 1849.
- Malfatti's neue Heilversuche: 1. Gelungene Vertilgung des grauen Staares durch eine neue äussere Heilmethode; 2. Häufige Entstehung des schwarzen Staares aus dem Raphagra. Erkenntniss und Behandlung dieser, so wie anderer (eben so oft verkannter) Krankheiten der Schedel-Suturen. Vienna 1847