Theodor Billroth was a Prussian-born Austrian surgeon and amateur musician. As a surgeon, he is generally regarded as the founding father of modern abdominal surgery. As a musician, he was a close friend and confidant of Johannes Brahms, a leading patron of the Viennese musical scene, and one of the first to attempt a scientific analysis of musicality.
Background
Theodor Billroth was born on April 26, 1829, in Bergen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, son of a pastor. Billroth was an indifferent student and spent more time practicing piano than studying. Torn between a career as a musician or as a physician, he acceded to his mother's wishes and enrolled himself at the University of Greifswald to study medicine, but gave up the whole of his first term to the study of music.
Education
Billroth was an indifferent student, and spent more time practicing piano than studying. Torn between a career as a musician or as a physician, he acceded to his mother's wishes and enrolled himself at the University of Greifswald to study medicine, but gave up the whole of his first term to the study of music. Professor Wilhelm Baum, however, took him with him to Göttingen, and his medical career was fixed. He then followed Professor Baum to the University of Göttingen, and completed his medical doctorate at the Frederick William University of Berlin in 1852. Along with Rudolph Wagner (1805–1864) and Georg Meissner (1829–1905), Billroth went to Trieste to study the torpedo fish.
Career
As a surgeon, Theodor Billroth is generally regarded as the founding father of modern abdominal surgery. As a musician, he was a close friend and confidant of Johannes Brahms, a leading patron of the Viennese musical scene, and one of the first to attempt a scientific analysis of musicality.