101999 | HUNGARY. Semmelweis Ignác cast bronze Medal.

101999  |  HUNGARY. Semmelweis Ignác cast bronze Medal. Issued 1969. Commemorating the life of the famous physician and scientist as well as the 200th anniversary of what would become Semmelweis University (89mm, 12h). By Madarassy.

 

W. SCiENTiARVM MEDiCiNAE VNiVERSiTAS BVDAPESTiNENSiS, bare head right; I PH SEMMELWEiS below / iN MEMORiAM FVNDATiONiS FACVLTATiS MEDiCiNAE, serpent-entwined staff. Edge: A few marks as made, otherwise plain.

 

Medicina in Nummis [Hungarian] 652; MHM I, –. Essentialy as cast. Attractive brown surfaces, with some minor casting flaws.

 

Semmelweis is commonly referred to as the "savior of mothers" on account of his discovering the connection between the marked decrease of puerperal (childbed) fever and simply disinfecting one's hands in obstetrics. At the time, this breakthrough was not widely recognized and was even ridiculed by many of his contemporaries. Sadly, he was committed to an asylum at the age of just 47 due to an alleged breakdown, succumbing to injuries sustained there merely two weeks later. Posthumously, his revelations were resoundingly recognized and helped save countless lives.

 

What is now Semmelweis University in Budapest began in 1769, when Maria Theresa, the Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary, added a medical faculty to the University of Nagyszombat. Shortly thereafter, the school relocated, first to Buda and then to Pest, with the two towns eventually becoming Budapest. The university adapted its current name in honor of Semmelweis and his vital role in medicine.

 

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