Daniel de Superville (1696-1773)
Encyclopedia
Daniel de Superville was a Dutch physician who in 1742 founded the University of Erlangen in Germany. He served as chancellor of the university until 1748. De Superville also wrote several treatises on anatomy
.
Daniel de Superville came from a family of French Huguenot
s who had fled to the Netherlands from Saumur
. He was the third son of merchant Jacques (Jacob) de Superville and Marguérite Vettekeuken. His uncle was the well-known Calvinist
theologian Daniel de Superville (1657-1728)
.
He enrolled at the University of Leiden in 1719 but had already gained his doctorate
a year earlier at the University of Utrecht with a dissertation entitled Dissertatio de sanguine et sanguificatione. In 1722 he married Catharina Elisabeth le Comte in Leiden, and on June 21 of that year, the couple left for Prussia
, where de Superville found employment as a lecturer of anatomy and surgery
in Stettin
.
After he managed to cure King Frederick II of Prussia
of edema
(dropsy), Daniel de Superville in 1738 secured a position as the personal physician of Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia, sister of Frederick II. Superville soon became a highly influential advisor at the court of Wilhelmina and her husband, Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
. He was also admitted to the German imperial academy of sciences in Berlin
in 1739.
At the initiative of Frederick and Wilhelmina, he founded a Protestant university in Bayreuth in 1743. Superville was appointed as the first rector magnificus of the university. When the university was relocated to Erlangen
one year later, Frederick of Brandenburg-Bayreuth appointed himself rector magnificus but kept de Superville on as chancellor. Today, the university is the second largest in Bavaria
.
De Superville remained head of the university until 1748, when he returned – via Bremen
and Braunschweig
– to the Netherlands. He settled in Voorburg
, near The Hague
, and remarried in 1770, a year after the death of his first wife. Finally, he returned to his birthplace of Rotterdam, where he died in 1773 at the age of 77. De Superville was buried at the Vrouwekerk
church in Leiden (demolished in 1819), which at that time served as Walloon church
.
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
.
Daniel de Superville came from a family of French Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s who had fled to the Netherlands from Saumur
Saumur
Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc...
. He was the third son of merchant Jacques (Jacob) de Superville and Marguérite Vettekeuken. His uncle was the well-known Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
theologian Daniel de Superville (1657-1728)
Daniel de Superville (1657-1728)
Daniel de Superville , also known as Daniel de Superville père , was a Huguenot pastor and theologian who fled France for the Dutch Republic in 1685 and became the minister of the Walloon church in Rotterdam...
.
He enrolled at the University of Leiden in 1719 but had already gained his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
a year earlier at the University of Utrecht with a dissertation entitled Dissertatio de sanguine et sanguificatione. In 1722 he married Catharina Elisabeth le Comte in Leiden, and on June 21 of that year, the couple left for Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, where de Superville found employment as a lecturer of anatomy and surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
in Stettin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
.
After he managed to cure King Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
of edema
Edema
Edema or oedema ; both words from the Greek , oídēma "swelling"), formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, is an abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin or in one or more cavities of the body that produces swelling...
(dropsy), Daniel de Superville in 1738 secured a position as the personal physician of Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia, sister of Frederick II. Superville soon became a highly influential advisor at the court of Wilhelmina and her husband, Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth , was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth....
. He was also admitted to the German imperial academy of sciences in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1739.
At the initiative of Frederick and Wilhelmina, he founded a Protestant university in Bayreuth in 1743. Superville was appointed as the first rector magnificus of the university. When the university was relocated to Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
one year later, Frederick of Brandenburg-Bayreuth appointed himself rector magnificus but kept de Superville on as chancellor. Today, the university is the second largest in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
.
De Superville remained head of the university until 1748, when he returned – via Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
and Braunschweig
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
– to the Netherlands. He settled in Voorburg
Voorburg
Voorburg is a Dutch town and former municipality in the western part of the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. As also Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. It has approximately 39,000 inhabitants....
, near The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, and remarried in 1770, a year after the death of his first wife. Finally, he returned to his birthplace of Rotterdam, where he died in 1773 at the age of 77. De Superville was buried at the Vrouwekerk
Vrouwekerk
The Vrouwekerk or Vrouwenkerk , originally known as the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk , was a 14th-Century church in the Dutch city of Leiden...
church in Leiden (demolished in 1819), which at that time served as Walloon church
Walloon church
A Walloon church describes any Calvinist church building in the Netherlands and its former colonies whose members originally came from the Southern Netherlands and France and whose native language is French...
.
Sources
- Kees Vellenga, "In het voetspoor van Röntgen 2008", Historische Commissie van de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Radiologie (Dutch)
- Wer ist wer in Bayreuth: Daniel de Superville (German)
- Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek, deel 6: Superville, Daniel de (3) (Dutch)
- "Superville, Daniel von" in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, 1908 (German)