Wilhelm Frederick von Ludwig
Wilhelm Friedrich von Ludwig ( born September 16, 1790 in Uhlbach near Stuttgart, † December 14, 1865 in Stuttgart) was a German physician.
Wilhelm Ludwig was born as the seventh child of the pastor Johann Jakob Ludwig. After finishing school, Wilhelm was apprenticed to a surgeon before he could complete a medical degree in Tübingen. Already at the age of 21 he received his doctorate. Scholarships, which he received for his excellent exam, he could not start because he was drafted into the army. With the Grand Army of Napoleon, the young doctor had to go to Russia, he came there in captivity. A Russian prince whose son was ill, was looking for a doctor in the camp. Ludwig to save the child, which earned him some perks succeeded. After the Battle of Leipzig he returned to his homeland.
1814 Louis received the appointment as the surgical- obstetrical department of the University Hospital in Tübingen, in 1815 where he became a professor of medicine. The teaching did not satisfy him, he went back to Stuttgart and opened a practice. King William I appointed him in 1816 to the private physician, but he treated people from all walks of life. In 1836 he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Württemberg Medizinalkollegiums. As of the same director, he initiated the creation of a Zentralimpfanstalt, the production of the vaccine and the introduction of smallpox vaccinations.
About Ludwig are many anecdotes have been handed down, also is reported that his life he refused to doff his Swabian dialect. In 1853 he retired after nearly 40 years of official activity will be entitled excellence. His large practice he continued. In 1858 he was made an honorary citizen of the city of Stuttgart.
On December 14, 1865 State Obermedizinalrat by Ludwig died at the age of 73 years in Stuttgart. For his burial at the cemetery Uhlbacher he had taken precise instructions. He had longed for a simple marble cross, the Board of Trustees erected but in 1869 a monumental tomb, made according to the design of the famous Julius Schnorr von Carol Field. On a sandstone base rests a bronze plate, provided with the survival data and a bust of the deceased.
Ludwig left a large fortune, which he determined to build a hospital. " For poor sick Württemberg, whatever their religion or what places in the country they belong to. " Even the training of young doctors should be encouraged there. The " Louis Hospital Charlotte aid " was inaugurated on 1 December 1874. It was in the Linde tracer street and existed until after the First World War. Then it was on to the city of Stuttgart.
Wilhelm Friedrich von Ludwig in 1839 was awarded the Order of the Württemberg Crown Kommenturkreuz, which was connected with the personal titles of nobility. In 1846 he received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Frederick.