102145 | HUNGARY. Semmelweis, Hogyes & Korányi silvered bronze Medal.

102145  |  HUNGARY. Semmelweis, Hőgyes & Korányi silvered bronze Medal. Issued 1969. Commemorating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the University of Medicine at Budapest (60mm, 77.98 g, 12h). By Madarassy W.

 

VNiVERSiTAS BVDAPESTiENSiS SCiENTiARVM MEDiCiNAE, bare heads left of Drs. Semmelweis Ignás, Hőgyes Endre, and Korányi Sándor, with their respective birth and death years / iN MEMORiAM FVNDATiONiS FACVLTATiS MEDiCiNAE, serpent-entwined staff. Edge: Plain.

 

Huszár & Varannai 1341. Gem Mint State. Matte gray surfaces, with some deeper hues around the devices; 17 - 69 engraved in reverse field, as made.

 

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 merging to become Budapest. The university adapted its current name in honor of Semmelweis and his vital role in medicine.

 

Semmelweis Ignás 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.

 

Following Louis Pasteur's successful development of a vaccine for rabies, Hőgyes Endre was instrumental in establishing the Research Institute of Rabies in Budapest. There, anti-rabies serum was manufactured, aiding in the treatment of a disease that, at the time, had no real answers.

 

Korányi Sándor came from a medical family, being the elder son of Frigyes, Sr. and the brother of Frigyes, Jr. He specialized in internal medicine and was nominated for the Nobel prize 13 times between 1901 and 1937.

 

Upload: 2 January 2023.