WIESENTHAL
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WIESENTHAL
and he had a lurid gift in the use of
expletives when things did not go right.
But he was just and honorable and full
of charity for the poor.
He was twice married: the first iniion an unhapp}' one, the second not ideal because of wide difference in social rank. His death was tragic. Deeply affected by the loss of a much loved son he walked to the cemetery and fainted on the grave, and though promptly carried home he never quite recovered consciousness and died the following morning.
N. A. P. Wiesenthal, Andrew (1762-1798).
Andrew Wiesenthal, anatomist, was the only son of Dr. Charles Frederick Wiesenthal, of Baltimore, and born in the year 1762. Having received a good education in his native city, he began to study medicine in his father's private school, then studied anatomy under Shippen and attended lectures in Phila- delphia and London. He spent three years in the latter city, 1786-1789, as interne in St. Bartholomew's Hospital, studying under John Sheldon, Cruik- shank, John Marshall, and Percival Pott. Returning to Baltimore in the summer of 1789, shortly after the death of his father, he began instruction, the ensuing winter, in anatomy, physiology, pathology, operative surgery and the gravid uterus, to a class of fifteen. He attempted with Dr. George Buchanan to found a medical college, but while he failed in this, he continued instruction in anatomy and surgery in his private school up to the time of his death, which occurred in Baltimore December 2, 1798. In 1789 he married Sarah Van Dyke, of Eastern Shore, Maryland. They had one son, Thomas Van Dyke Wiesenthal, who also became a doctor in the United States Navy.
In the "London Medical and Physical Journal," vol. ii. No. 8, October, 1799, it is said that Andrew made an important pathological discovery in Baltimore, in 1797. The account of it is conveyed in a letter from him dated May 21, 1797, and it is sent to the editors
of the above journal for publication by
"Andrew Marshall, Bartlot's Building,
September 10, 1799." The discovery
was that the deadly epizootic in fowls
and turkeys — known as syngamosis, a
verminous tracheobronchitis (vulgarly
"the gapes") was due to a cylindrical
worm, since known as Syngamus Tra-
chealis. This worm infests the trachea,
choking the young chicks. He gives an
illustration of it, of natural size and as
magnified under the microscope. This
probably represents the first discovery
of an organism producing an epidemic or
infectious disease ever made. Dr.
Wiesenthal's priority is well established.
The worm was seen in England for the
first time by Montagu, in 1806-1808,
and did not figure in French publications
till well into the latter half of the nine-
teenth century. See L. G. Neumann,
"Traite des Mai. Parasitaires," trans-
lation by Fleming, London, 1892. The
letter, which was published, as seen, after
Andrew's death, is reproduced in "Old
Maryland," vol. ii, No. 4, April, 1906.
E. F. C.
Wiesenthal, Charles Frederick (1726- 1789). He was born in Prussia in 1726, but of his family and life there is nothing known. Family tradition asserted that he was physician to Frederick the Great, and the knowledge of the details of the military service in Prussia, as displayed in his correspondence, favors the vieAv that he was connected in some way with the army. It is not known whether he possessed a medical degree or not. He arrived in Baltimore, which was first settled chiefly by Germans, in 1755, and for thirty-four years thereafter, was in active practice. Shortly after his arrival he married a lady of York, Pennsylvania, and had one son and three daughters. Naturalized in 1771, he warmly espoused the cause of the patriots and his services and advice were of the greatest value during the Revolution. In January, 1775, he was made a member of the Committee of Observation of Baltimore
