Karl Gustav Himly

Karl Gustav Himly (30 April 1772 – 22 March 1837) was a German surgeon and ophthalmologist from Braunschweig.

He studied medicine at the University of Würzburg under Karl Kaspar von Siebold (1736–1807), and at the University of Göttingen under August Gottlieb Richter (1742–1812). In 1795 he became a professor at the hospital in Braunschweig, and in 1801 succeeded Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland (1762–1836) as professor of medicine at the hospital in Jena.

In 1803 he was professor of surgery at the University of Göttingen, where he worked with Konrad Johann Martin Langenbeck (1776–1851), and his former teacher August Richter. In 1809, Himly was instrumental in establishing a new hospital in Göttingen. Among his better known students were Karl Friedrich Heusinger (1792–1883), Christian Georg Theodor Ruete (1810–1867) and Friedrich August von Ammon (1799–1861). Himly died in Göttingen. His son, Ernst August Wilhelm Himly (1800–1881), was also a noted physiologist.

Himly was a pioneer in the field of ophthalmology, and is credited for introducing the scientific application of mydriatics into European medicine. In addition he performed early investigations concerning the possibilities of corneal grafting. In 1802, with Johann Adam Schmidt (1759–1809) he began publication of Ophthalmologische Bibliothek, which was the first magazine dedicated to ophthalmic medicine in Germany. From 1809 until 1814 he published Journal für praktische Heilkunde with Christoph Hufeland.

References

• This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.
• [2] translated biography @ Meyers Konversations-Lexikon