
Homeopaths claim that Hippocrates may have originated homeopathy around 400 BC, when he prescribed a small dose of mandrake root to treat mania, knowing it produces mania in much larger doses. In the 16th century, the pioneer of pharmacology Paracelsus declared that small doses of "what makes a man ill also cures him".
Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843) gave homeopathy its name and expanded its principles in the late 18th century. At that time, mainstream medicine used methods like bloodletting and purging, and administered complex mixtures, such as Venice treacle, which was made from 64 substances including opium, myrrh, and viper's flesh. These treatments often worsened symptoms and sometimes proved fatal. Hahnemann rejected these practices – which had been extolled for centuries – as irrational and inadvisable; instead, he advocated the use of single drugs at lower doses and promoted an immaterial, vitalistic view of how living organisms function, believing that diseases have spiritual, as well as physical causes.
The term "homeopathy" was coined by Hahnemann and first appeared in print in 1807.
The following people are generally recognized as influential homeopaths, either historically or currently:
Influential Homeopaths
- Clemens Maria Franz von Bönninghausen
- Dr. Samuel Cockburn (1823-1915), homeopathic surgeon and author based in Glasgow, Scotland
- Peter Fisher (British physician)
- Dr. John Franklin Gray (1804–1882), the first practitioner of Homeopathy in the United States.
- Mélanie Hahnemann (1800-1878) Wife of Dr Samuel Hahnemann
- Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843), the founder of homeopathy.
- Charles Julius Hempel, the father of English homeopathic literature
- Constantin Hering (also spelled Constantine) (1800–1880) "the Grand Old Man of American homeopathy", Saxon-born homeopath, settled in Philadelphia in 1833, elected first president of the American Institute of Homeopathy when it was founded in 1844
- Elizabeth Wright Hubbard
- George Heinrich Gottlieb Jahr (1800–1875) was a pioneer of classical homeopathy. He published the first homeopathic repertory in 1835.
- James Tyler Kent (1849–1916)
- E.B. Nash, , practiced, taught, and published on homeopathy in the United States at the turn of the century
- Frederic Hervey Foster Quin (1799–1878), the first homeopathic physician in England.
- Master Farokh Famous Homeopath and author of many Homeopathic books, Mumbai, India
- Guy Beckley Stearns (1870–1947) American homeopath and author. Made contributions to the beginnings of kinesiology and radionics.
- Dana Ullman, homeopathy advocate.
- George Vithoulkas (1932–present), the main leader of Classical Homeopathy, based in Alonissos-Greece.
- Jacques Benveniste (1935-2004) Paris, France, Homeopath
- Jan Scholten (c1951 - ) Birthplace: Helmond, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Homeopath
- Luc De Schepper (c 1945 - ) Ghent, Belgium,Homeopath, Physician
- John Henry Clarke (1853-1931) England, Homeopath, Physician
- Mukesh Batra (c1951 - ) Mumbai, India, Homeopath
- Paul Herscu (c 1958 - )Bucharest, Romania, Homeopath National College of Natural Medicine
- Thomas Roupell Everest (1801-1855) England, Priest, Homeopath Institution: Pembroke College, Oxford
Links
- Hahnemann and Homoeopathy, By Peter Morrell (Read on-line)
- Homeopathy Wikipedia
- influential homeopaths Wikipedia
- Famous Homeopaths
- Naturopathic Medicine