Wilhelm Fabry (also William Fabry, Guilelmus Fabricius Hildanus, or Fabricius von Hilden) (June 25, 1560 in Hilden − February 15, 1634 in Berne). He is often called the "Father of German surgery". He was the first educated and scientific German surgeon and author of 20 medical books. His Observationum et Curationum Chirurgicarum Centuriae, published posthumously in 1641, is the best collection of case records of the century and gives clear insight into the variety and methods of his surgical practice. His wife, Marie Colinet (or Fabry), was a Swiss midwife-surgeon who perfected the techniques of cesarean section delivery (which hadn't changed since the days of Julius Caesar). She helped her husband in his surgical practice and was the first (in 1624) to use a magnet to extract metal from a patient's eye (a technique still in use today). Fabry wrote a detailed description of the procedure in his Centuriae and, although he explicitly mentioned his wife as having invented it, was given credit for the discovery. His birth town named the city museum (featuring surgical instruments and the like) after him, honoured him with a bronze bust in the market place, and named streets after himself and after his wife. The city of Berne named a street after him (Hildanusstrasse), using one of the Latin versions of his name.
- In 1579 - Badergeselle (surgeon's mate) in Düsseldorf of the extraordinary court surgeon Cosmas Slot.
- On July 25, 1587 - married to Marie Colinet, the daughter of Eustache Colinet, a Genevese printer.
- 1602 - 1615 Surgeon in Payerne (Switzerland) and Lausanne.
- 1615 - 1634 City Surgeon in Berne by appointment of the city council
Resources
- Georg Becker, Wilhelm Fabry von Hilden (Niederbergische Beiträge vol. 6, ed. Heinrich Strangmeier), Wuppertal 1957 (German)
- JONES E (1960). "The life and works of Guilhelmus Fabricius Hildanus". Med Hist 4: 112–34 contd. PMID 14407687.
- JONES EW (1960). "The life and works of Guilhelmus Fabricius Hildanus (1560-1634) (part II)". Med Hist 4: 196–209. PMID 14407702.
