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Samuel Hahnemann Monument

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Charles Henry Niehaus (January 24, 1855 – June 19, 1935) was an American sculptor.

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55-436: The Samuel Hahnemann Monument , also known as Dr. Samuel Hahnemann , is a public artwork dedicated to Samuel Hahnemann , the founder of homeopathy . It is located on the east side of Scott Circle , a traffic circle in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The Classical Revival monument consists of an exedra designed by architect Julius Harder and a statue sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus , whose works include

110-407: A chemist. The German inscription "DIE MILDE MACHT IST GROSS", meaning "Gentle Power is Great", is below the left reliefs. The right reliefs depict Hahnemann as a teacher and as a physician. The Latin inscription "IN OMNIBUS CARITAS", meaning "In All Things, Charity", is below the right reliefs. A shell motif is located above the reliefs on each side. On each end of the exedra is a post adorned with

165-542: A congressional vote to authorize the monument being placed in Washington, D.C., failed. Members such as Representative L. Irving Handy of Delaware argued that only individuals who had distinguished careers in the military or civil branches of the national government should be honored in the city. Supporters finally won approval of Congress on January 31, 1900, when members voted to approve the monument's placement and appropriate $ 4,000 for its foundation. Hahnemann became

220-403: A great warrior, General Scott; on the other side is a statue of a great statesman and orator, Daniel Webster. Here on this side, with great appropriateness, has been placed the statue of a scientist, a reformer, a good physician. There is, said he, but one test of worthiness, and that is that a man shall have wrought in unselfishness, in the interests of his country, of humanity and the world. It

275-760: A number of books, essays, and letters on the homeopathic method, chemistry, and general medicine: Charles Henry Niehaus Niehaus was born in Cincinnati , Ohio , to German parents. He began working as a marble and wood carver, and then gained entrance to the McMicken School of Design in Cincinnati. He studied at the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany (1877–1881). The effect of the German study

330-411: A seated statue of Hahnemann on a central niche. The statue measures 6 ft (1.8 m) tall, 2.5 ft (0.76 m) wide, and 3 ft (0.91 m) long. He is wearing long robes and has his right leg crossed over his left leg. Hahnemann's right arm is resting on the arm of the chair as his head rests against his right hand. His left arm is resting on the left arm of the chair and his left hand

385-404: A shield and lion head. A large shell is on the top of each of these posts. Four semi-circular steps lead to the exedra. The exedra is 25 ft (7.6 m) tall, 36 ft (11 m) long, and 24 ft (7.3 m) wide. On the back of the exedra is a fountain basin with a bird-like fountain spout and a relief of two nude figures kneeling back to back. Inscriptions on the monument include

440-593: A small triangular lot on the east side of Scott Circle between Corregidor Street, Massachusetts Avenue , and Rhode Island Avenue NW. The monument faces west towards the traffic circle and the Brevet Lt. General Winfield Scott equestrian statue. On the opposite side of the circle is the Daniel Webster Memorial , also listed on the NRHP. The Classical Revival monument consists of an exedra with

495-664: A statue of the recently assassinated President James A. Garfield . He moved to New York City in 1887 and opened a studio where his works included the pediments at the Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State and the doors of Trinity Church . Niehaus was best known for his portraiture work, including eight statues for the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol and two works for

550-509: A writer and translator, while resolving also to investigate the causes of medicine's alleged errors. While translating William Cullen 's A Treatise on the Materia Medica , Hahnemann encountered the claim that cinchona , the bark of a Peruvian tree, was effective in treating malaria because of its astringency. Hahnemann believed that other astringent substances are not effective against malaria and began to research cinchona's effect on

605-560: Is entombed in a mausoleum at Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery . Hahnemann's daughter, Amelie (1789–1881), had a son: Leopold Suss-Hahnemann. Leopold emigrated to England, and he practised homeopathy in London. He retired to the Isle of Wight and died there at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Dr Leopold Suss-Hahnemann's youngest daughter, Amalia, had two children, Winifred (born in 1898) and Herbert. William Herbert Tankard-Hahnemann (1922–2009)

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660-403: Is flanked by columns and a top panel bears the inscription "HAHNEMANN". Below the statue is a Latin inscription, "SIMILIA / SIMILIBUS / CURENTUR", which translates "Likes Are Cured By Like." On either side of the niche are a pair of bronze reliefs sculpted by Niehaus, each measuring 4 ft (1.2 m) high and 1 ft (0.30 m) long. The left reliefs depict Hahnemann as a student and as

715-465: Is holding a book. Hahnemann is depicted as bald and seeming to concentrate while looking down to his left. Above Hahnemann on the niche is a decorative ceramic mosaic designed in the Art Nouveau style and keystone lion head. On either side of the lion head are stone reliefs . The right relief is a snake wrapped around a chalice and the left relief is an open book and chemist's bowl. The niche

770-586: Is widely regarded as a remodelled form of an essay he published in 1806 called "The Medicine of Experience", which had been published in Hufeland's Journal. Of the Organon , Robert Ellis Dudgeon states it "was an amplification and extension of his "Medicine of Experience", worked up with greater care, and put into a more methodical and aphoristic form, after the model of the Hippocratic writings." Around

825-622: The John Paul Jones Memorial in Washington, D.C., and several statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection . The monument is significant because Hahnemann is the first foreigner not associated with the American Revolution to be honored with a sculpture in Washington, D.C. The monument was dedicated in 1900 following years of fundraising efforts by the American Institute of Homeopathy . Among

880-809: The National Park Service , a federal agency of the Interior Department . Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843) was a German physician who created homeopathy , an alternative medicine system that is considered a pseudoscience . He studied chemistry and medicine at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg , earning a medical degree in 1779. He was then appointed Surgeon-in-Chief at a hospital in Dresden and later served as superintendent of an insane asylum in Georgenthal . While serving on

935-506: The National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol . He moved to Rome , Italy, where he worked on the commissions, and made a study of ancient sculpture. He modeled three major male nudes during his years in Rome, including The Scraper (1883) and Caestus (1883-1885). He returned to New York City in 1885, and opened a studio. In 1887, he created a statue of Ohioan William Allen , also for Statuary Hall. In later years, he

990-553: The River Elbe and settling at different times in Dresden , Torgau , Leipzig and Köthen (Anhalt) before finally moving to Paris in June 1835. Hahnemann was dissatisfied with the state of medicine in his time, and particularly objected to practices such as bloodletting . He claimed that the medicine he had been taught to practice sometimes did the patient more harm than good: My sense of duty would not easily allow me to treat

1045-752: The Thomas Jefferson Building 's Main Reading Room. His statue of John Paul Jones in Washington, D.C., is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Niehaus created Hahnemann's likeness by using a bust sculpted by David d'Angers that is now housed in the Saint Jacques Hospital in Paris. While funds were being raised for the monument, permission to install the structure in Washington, D.C.,

1100-525: The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., a record for a sculptor. However, in 2003, Kansas replaced his statue of George Washington Glick with one of Dwight D. Eisenhower , in 2011, Michigan replaced his statue of Zachariah Chandler with one of Gerald R. Ford , in 2016, Ohio replaced his statue of William Allen with one of Thomas Edison , and, in 2022, Kansas replaced his statue of John James Ingalls with one of Amelia Earhart . His remaining four statues are still more than any other sculptor has in

1155-782: The 45th Session of the American Institute of Homeopathy (AIH) that the organization agreed to undertake the project. Members of the nation's homeopathic community began raising funds, including the largest single donation of $ 4,510 by physician Nancy T. Williams. The AIH was assisted in its endeavor by the National Sculpture Society , which formed a committee to select an artist and design. The committee consisted of sculptors George Edwin Bissell , Daniel Chester French , and Olin Levi Warner , and architects Thomas Hastings and Russell Sturgis . A design competition

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1210-557: The AIH hosted "Homeopathy 2000: Rededication and Celebration in Washington, D.C." A rededication ceremony organized by homeopathic societies and other organizations was held with an Armed Forces Color Guard and music provided by the Marine Band Brass Quintet. It was during this ceremony that attendees realized the monument was in need of repair, including the crumbling mosaic above the statue. Physician Sandra M. Chase of

1265-594: The American Institute of Homeopathy Hahnemann Monument Preservation Committee organized a fundraising drive called the Hahnemann Monument Restoration Project. During the next few years, AIH members and the public raised over $ 30,000 for repairs. Working with the National Park Service (NPS), the committee hired conservator Judy Jacob to oversee the restoration. The process included the statue being evaluated and cleaned,

1320-662: The Causes and Treatment of Spasmodic Diseases ]. In 1781, Hahnemann took a village doctor's position in the copper-mining area of Mansfeld , Saxony . He soon married Johanna Henriette Kuchler and would eventually have eleven children. After abandoning medical practice, and while working as a translator of scientific and medical textbooks, he translated fifteen books from English, six from French and one each from Latin and Italian from 1777 to 1806. Hahnemann travelled around Saxony for many years, staying in many different towns and villages for varying lengths of time, never living far from

1375-598: The Healing Act (1810), Materia Medica Para (1811–1821), and The Chronic Diseases, Their Peculiar Nature and Their Homeopathic Cure (1828). He is considered the greatest influence on the practice of homeopathy, which was very influential in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A monument honoring Hahnemann was first proposed in 1881 by physician James H. McClelland at a meeting of the Homeopathic Medical Society. It wasn't until June 1892 at

1430-564: The Rational Art of Healing", followed over the years by four further editions entitled The Organon of the Healing Art , the first systematic treatise and containing all his detailed instructions on the subject. A 6th Organon edition, unpublished during his lifetime, and dating from February 1842, was only published many years after his death. It consisted of a 5th Organon containing extensive handwritten annotations. The Organon

1485-673: The best advantage the delicate lines which are features of the artist's work." The architect chosen to design the monument was Julius Harder of the firm Israel and Harder. The statue was founded by the Gorham Manufacturing Company and the contractor was the Maine & New Hampshire Granite Company. The total cost of the monument and its installation was around $ 75,000. The dedication ceremony took place on June 21, 1900, during an AIH convention. Thousands of people, including hundreds of medical professionals, attended

1540-403: The dial of time the dividing point of centuries, to rear in our nation's capital this beautiful monument commemorating at once the genius of Samuel Hahnemann and the loyalty of his followers." An ode by physician William Tod Helmuth of New York was read followed by acceptance of the monument by government representative Colonel Theodore A. Bingham . He said, "It is with great pleasure that I have

1595-400: The elaborate ceremony at Scott Circle. In front of the monument were chairs for distinguished guests, including President McKinley and his wife, Ida , both supporters of homeopathy, Attorney General John W. Griggs , General Wilson, and District Commissioner Henry Brown Floyd MacFarland. Temporary scaffolding, adorned with flags and bunting, was built to shield these guests from the sun. When

1650-498: The faculty at Leipzig University , Hahnemann became disillusioned with standard medical procedures of the time, including over drugging and bleeding. He pursued what he considered "natural laws" of medicine, opposing allopathy and developed the "laws of similars" ( similia similibus curantur , meaning like is cured by like). His unorthodox views were controversial at the time, but Hahnemann continued to pursue his homeopathic studies and published several works, including The Organon of

1705-449: The first foreigner not associated with the American Revolution to be honored with a sculpture in Washington, D.C. The site selected for the monument was chosen by a committee created by Congress. The committee included McClelland, who first proposed the monument, Senator George P. Wetmore and General John Moulder Wilson . The committee chose a site on the east side of Scott Circle "by reason of its abundant opportunities to display to

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1760-523: The following: Samuel Hahnemann Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann ( / ˈ h ɑː n ə m ə n / HAH -nə-mən , German: [ˈzaːmueːl ˈhaːnəman] ; 10 April 1755 – 2 July 1843) was a German physician , best known for creating the pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine called homeopathy . Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann was born in Meissen , Saxony , near Dresden . His father Christian Gottfried Hahnemann

1815-482: The granite edifice being cleaned, the fountain basin and pedestal on the back of the monument being restored, and the brick in the surrounding plaza being relayed and leveled. A missing oak tree was also replaced and an informal pathway was covered. The completion of the restoration project was marked by an event at the monument site on September 16, 2011, with representatives from the NPS and AIH in attendance. The monument

1870-411: The historical literature and sought to differentiate between the ancient use of Helleborus niger , or black hellebore, and the medicinal uses of the "white hellebore", botanically Veratrum album , both of which are poisonous plants. Hahnemann continued practicing and researching homeopathy, as well as writing and lecturing for the rest of his life. He died in 1843 in Paris, at 88 years of age, and

1925-459: The honor, as the government's officer in charge of public buildings and grounds in the District of Columbia, to accept this monument on behalf of the government, and I assure you that every care will be taken for its preservation." The Marine Band then played " The Star-Spangled Banner " followed by an address by Attorney General Griggs. He stated: "In the center of this park stands the statue of

1980-443: The human body by self-application. Noting that the drug induced malaria-like symptoms in himself, he concluded that it would do so in any healthy individual. This led him to postulate a healing principle: "that which can produce a set of symptoms in a healthy individual, can treat a sick individual who is manifesting a similar set of symptoms." This principle, like cures like , became the basis for an approach to medicine which he gave

2035-518: The intention of teaching his new medical system at the University of Leipzig . As required by the university statutes, to become a faculty member he was required to submit and defend a thesis on a medical topic of his choice. On 26 June 1812, Hahnemann presented a Latin thesis, entitled "A Medical Historical Dissertation on the Helleborism of the Ancients." His thesis very thoroughly examined

2090-483: The monument committee, gave a brief address and formally presented the monument to the AIH. The monument was then unveiled as the Marine Band played " My Country, 'Tis of Thee ". The president of the AIH, physician Charles E. Walton of Cincinnati, then presented the monument to the government on behalf of the organization's members. He said, "Their labors make it possible, in this memorable year 1900, which marks on

2145-661: The name homeopathy . He first used the term homeopathy in his essay Indications of the Homeopathic Employment of Medicines in Ordinary Practice , published in Hufeland 's Journal in 1807. Following up the work of the Viennese physician Anton von Störck , Hahnemann tested substances for the effects they produced on a healthy individual, presupposing (as von Störck had claimed) that they may heal

2200-545: The physician Joseph von Quarin , later credited for turning Vienna General Hospital into a model European medical institution. After one term of further study, Hahnemann graduated with a medical degree with honors from the University of Erlangen on 10 August 1779. His poverty may have forced him to choose Erlangen, as the school's fees were lower than in Vienna. Hahnemann's thesis was titled Conspectus adfectuum spasmodicorum aetiologicus et therapeuticus [ A Dissertation on

2255-654: The president arrived, the Marine Band played " Hail to the Chief ". Physician James Bayard Gregg Custis of Washington, D.C., presided over the event. His remarks included: "This monument is erected in the hope that from it, as a center, truth may be spread which will result in the lessening of suffering and the increased usefulness of mankind." The invocation was provided by Presbyterian minister Benjamin Franklin Bittinger. McClelland, who served as chairman of

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2310-607: The same ills that they caused. His researches led him to agree with von Störck that the toxic effects of ingested substances are often broadly parallel to certain disease states, and his exploration of historical cases of poisoning in the medical literature further implied a more generalised medicinal "law of similars". He later devised methods of diluting the drugs he was testing in order to mitigate their toxic effects. He claimed that these dilutions, when prepared according to his technique of "potentization" using dilution and succussion (vigorous shaking), were still effective in alleviating

2365-441: The same symptoms in the sick. His more systematic experiments with dose reduction really commenced around 1800–01 when, on the basis of his "law of similars," he had begun using Ipecacuanha for the treatment of coughs and Belladonna for scarlet fever. He first published an article about the homeopathic approach in a German-language medical journal in 1796. Following a series of further essays, he published in 1810 "Organon of

2420-559: The start of the nineteenth century Hahnemann developed a theory, propounded in his 1803 essay On the Effects of Coffee from Original Observations , that many diseases are caused by coffee . Hahnemann later abandoned the coffee theory in favour of the theory that disease is caused by Psora , but it has been noted that the list of conditions Hahnemann attributed to coffee was similar to his list of conditions caused by Psora . In early 1811 Hahnemann moved his family back to Leipzig with

2475-406: The thousands of attendees at the dedication ceremony were prominent citizens including President William McKinley , Attorney General John W. Griggs , and General John Moulder Wilson . The monument was rededicated in 2000 and a restoration process was completed in 2011. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The monument and surrounding lot are owned and maintained by

2530-451: The unknown pathological state of my suffering brethren with these unknown medicines. The thought of becoming in this way a murderer or malefactor towards the life of my fellow human beings was most terrible to me, so terrible and disturbing that I wholly gave up my practice in the first years of my married life and occupied myself solely with chemistry and writing. After giving up his practice around 1784, Hahnemann made his living chiefly as

2585-435: The works authored by him are equestrian statues . As was the case with other sculptors of his day he also fashioned a fair amount of architectural sculpture. In 1900 Niehaus married noted horticulturalist Regina Armstrong and moved to New Rochelle, New York . A resident of Cliffside Park, New Jersey , Niehaus died at his home there on June 19, 1935. Niehaus had eight statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection at

2640-667: Was Winifred's son. He served as a Major in the British Army during World War II, and then had a career in the city of London. He was at one point appointed as a Freeman of the City of London. Mr William Herbert Tankard-Hahnemann, the great-great-great-grandson of Samuel Hahnemann died on 12 January 2009 (his 87th birthday) after 22 years of active patronage of the British Institute of Homeopathy. The William Tankard-Hahnemann line continues with his son, Charles. Hahnemann wrote

2695-424: Was a difficult and long process. Hahnemann was not an American and had never visited the country. Supporters of the monument lobbied members of Congress to support its erection, but President Grover Cleveland refused to sign the agreement. After the election of President William McKinley , supporters renewed their efforts and eventually won the support of many congressional members and the president. But in 1899,

2750-624: Was a painter and designer of porcelain, for which the town of Meissen is famous. As a young man, Hahnemann became proficient in a number of languages, including English, French, Italian, Greek and Latin. He eventually made a living as a translator and teacher of languages, gaining further proficiency in " Arabic , Syriac , Chaldaic and Hebrew ". Hahnemann studied medicine for two years at Leipzig . Citing Leipzig's lack of clinical facilities, he moved to Vienna , where he studied for ten months. His medical professors in Leipzig and Vienna included

2805-570: Was added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites on February 22, 2007, and the NRHP on October 11, 2007. It is also designated a contributing property to the Sixteenth Street Historic District , listed on the NRHP in 1978. The monument and surrounding lot are owned and maintained by the NPS, a federal agency of the Interior Department . The Samuel Hahnemann Monument is located on Reservation 64,

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2860-795: Was held with 25 models submitted. They were displayed at the American Academy of the Fine Arts in New York City, the first time a public exhibition of competition models was held in the country. The committee unanimously selected the model submitted by Charles Henry Niehaus (1855–1935). Niehaus was a German-American from Ohio who attended the Royal Academy in Munich . In 1881, the Ohio state government commissioned him to create

2915-463: Was that he retained much of the Neo-Classical flavor in his art while most other sculptors of his generation were drawn towards Beaux-Arts realism. He returned to America in 1881. By virtue of being a native Ohioan, he was commissioned to sculpt two statues of the recently assassinated President James Garfield ; one for Cincinnati (Garfield's home city), and the other, in another pose , for

2970-471: Was the merit of Dr. Hahnemann, he said, that he exposed fallacy, uncovered truth and uncovered errors." The ceremony concluded with the crowd giving three cheers for the president followed by the band playing music. Following the ceremony, the president invited around 1,000 guests to the White House and received them in the state rooms. On June 21, 2000, one hundred years after the original dedication,

3025-446: Was to place statues of Oliver P. Morton of Indiana (1900), John J. Ingalls of Kansas (1905), Zachariah Chandler of Michigan (1913), George W. Glick of Kansas (1914), Ephraim McDowell of Kentucky (1929), and Henry Clay of Kentucky (1929) in the collection. His work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics . Monuments by Niehaus can be found in many American cities. Several of

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