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SPURZHEIM, Johann Gaspar (1776-1832)

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Metadata

Born: 1776

Died: 1832

Postnominals: MD

Editorial Description

Vienna 1813, LRCP 1817; born near Koblenz, Germany, of Lutheran parents and intended for the clergy; studied divinity and philosophy at the Univ of Treves; travelled to Vienna, c1797, and took up med studies in 1800, first as a pupil and then as an associate of GALL; accompanied GALL on his European tour, 1805-6 and settled with him in Paris, 1807; separated from GALL in 1813 and travelled to England where he lectured at intervals between 1814 and 1831, returning frequently to Paris where he lectured publicly before 1824 and privately thereafter; rendered phrenology popular among the British public, both lay and medical, from the early 1820s; based himself in England at the London home of J. D. HOLM; hon M LONDON PHREN SOC and EDIN PHREN SOC; lectured to audiences ranging from 70 in Sheffield in 1829 to over 700 for his course at the London Inst, 1826; died of fever in Boston in 1832 while on an American lecture tour. (DSB; and A32, A76, A100, A197, A199, A201.) Contemporary biographies and obituaries: A. CARMICHAEL, Memoir [1833]; CAPEN, Reminiscences, 1881; "Death of... [with portrait]," PHREN J, 8 [1832-4]: 126-43; LANCET, 15 and 22 Dec 1832: 370, 393-5, 408- 9; B. Park, "The Late Dr. S," New Eng Mag, 4 [1833]: 40-7; E. Bartlett, Address ... Boston Phrenological Society [Boston 1838]; Chs. Follen, Funeral Oration [Boston, 1832], reprinted in PHREN J, 8 [1832/4]: 317-31; Dr. James Jackson [of Boston], "Account of the Illness, Death, and Post-Mortem Examination of Dr. Spurzheim; and Subsequent Proceedings at Boston," PHREN J, 8 [1832/4]: 9; LONDON MED & PHYS J. Portrait [with skull etc] by N. C. Branwhite of Bristol, 1828, reproduced in Bristol School of Artists, 1818-40, ed Francis Greenacre [Bristol 1973]: 188, no. 226. See also W. P. Coves, "The Spurzheim Collections of Phrenological Casts," Boston Med & Surg J, 196 [1927]: 400-3. 193-

Works as Listed by Roger Cooter (1989)

Editorial Information

Identifier 1065.
Type Person
Source Roger Cooter, Phrenology in the British Isles (1989)
PDF page 315
Printed page 310
Database ID 2974
Original Transcription 
1065. SPURZHEIM, Johann Gaspar (1776-1832), MD Vienna 1813,
LRCP 1817; born near Koblenz, Germany, of Lutheran parents and
intended for the clergy; studied divinity and philosophy at the Univ
of Treves; travelled to Vienna, c1797, and took up med studies in
1800, first as a pupil and then as an associate of GALL; accompanied
GALL on his European tour, 1805-6 and settled with him in Paris,
1807; separated from GALL in 1813 and travelled to England where
he lectured at intervals between 1814 and 1831, returning frequently
to Paris where he lectured publicly before 1824 and privately thereafter; rendered phrenology popular among the British public, both
lay and medical, from the early 1820s; based himself in England at
the London home of J. D. HOLM; hon M LONDON PHREN SOC and
EDIN PHREN SOC; lectured to audiences ranging from 70 in Sheffield in 1829 to over 700 for his course at the London Inst, 1826;
died of fever in Boston in 1832 while on an American lecture tour.
(DSB; and A32, A76, A100, A197, A199, A201.) Contemporary biographies and obituaries: A. CARMICHAEL, Memoir [1833]; CAPEN,
Reminiscences, 1881; "Death of... [with portrait]," PHREN J, 8
[1832-4]: 126-43; LANCET, 15 and 22 Dec 1832: 370, 393-5, 408-
9; B. Park, "The Late Dr. S," New Eng Mag, 4 [1833]: 40-7; E.
Bartlett, Address ... Boston Phrenological Society [Boston 1838];
Chs. Follen, Funeral Oration [Boston, 1832], reprinted in PHREN J,
8 [1832/4]: 317-31; Dr. James Jackson [of Boston], "Account of
the Illness, Death, and Post-Mortem Examination of Dr. Spurzheim;
and Subsequent Proceedings at Boston," PHREN J, 8 [1832/4]:
9; LONDON MED & PHYS J. Portrait [with skull etc] by N. C.
Branwhite of Bristol, 1828, reproduced in Bristol School of Artists,
1818-40, ed Francis Greenacre [Bristol 1973]: 188, no.
226. See
also W. P. Coves, "The Spurzheim Collections of Phrenological Casts,"
Boston Med & Surg J, 196 [1927]: 400-3. 193-