Hering, Constantine, 1800-1880

Constantine Hering, M.D., the father of homeopathy in America, was born on January 1, 1800 in Oschatz, Saxony, in Germany, the son of Magister Karl Gottlieb Hering who was both a musician and an author, and known for developing a “simplified system of teaching music to children, which was adopted by the schools in Germany,” (Eastman, p. 2). Hering’s earliest education was in classical studies, though he began his education in medicine at an early age at a surgical academy in Dresden in 1817. By 1820, he was studying at the University of Leipzig, where he became a dedicated practitioner of homeopathy and an advocate for Samuel Hahnemann, the father of homeopathic medicine. Hering’s interest in homeopathy is traced back to a “dissecting wound” incurred during a postmortem examination, (Faber, p. 2). At the time of this accident such injuries were typically treated by amputation, but he refused and was instead treated successfully by homeopathy. Hering received the degree of doctor of medicine from the University of Wurzburg in 1826.

After his graduation from the University of Wurzburg, "he was appointed to go to Surinam, South America, by the King of Saxony, to make researches in Zoology and Botany,” (Eastman, p. 4). While there, he continued working with homeopathy, despite its lack of popularity, by lecturing in Paramaribo, working in a hospital and practicing in a leper colony.

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