Louis Sigurd Fridericia
Encyclopedia
Louis Sigurd Fridericia (February 24, 1881–February 1947) was a Danish
hygienist born in Copenhagen
.
Louis Fridericia's family had come to Denmark in the 1750s and took the name of the Jutland
town where they settled. He attended the University
of his native city of Copenhagen
and graduated medicine in 1906.
He became a physician
that year and received further education from Christian Bohr
(1855-1911) in Copenhagen, Ernst Leopold Salkowski
(1844-1923) in Berlin
, Georges Dreyer
(1873-1934) and Francis Gotch
(1853-1913) at Oxford
.
In Copenhagen he was an assistant at the institutes of physiology
, bacteriology
, and general pathology
, and assistant physician at the Rigshospitalet
, the Kommunehospitalet as well as Bispebjerg
Hospital.
He was habilitated in 1910 and in 1918 was appointed professor
of hygiene
. His first works concern the study of metabolism, respiration and circulation, his later works nutritional hygiene and nutritional physiology. He is most known for his repolarization correction formula of the QT interval
QTcF.
Fridericia went into hiding after the Nazi Occupation of Denmark
and in 1943 was smuggled to Sweden
hidden in a fishing boat. He then went to London
where he remained until the liberation. His wife, violinist Karen (Monies) Fridericia, died of overwork a few days after their return to Denmark, and her widower never really recovered from the shock. He died of an inoperable cancer that had affected his liver
, spleen
and aorta
.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
hygienist born in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
Louis Fridericia's family had come to Denmark in the 1750s and took the name of the Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
town where they settled. He attended the University
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
of his native city of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and graduated medicine in 1906.
He became a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
that year and received further education from Christian Bohr
Christian Bohr
Christian Harald Lauritz Peter Emil Bohr was a Danish physician, father of the physicist and Nobel laureate Niels Bohr, as well as the mathematician Harald Bohr and grandfather of another physicist and nobel laureate Aage Bohr...
(1855-1911) in Copenhagen, Ernst Leopold Salkowski
Ernst Leopold Salkowski
Ernst Leopold Salkowski was a German biochemist who was a native of Königsberg.He received his education at the University of Königsberg, and in 1872 was an assistant at the chemical laboratory of Rudolf Virchow's Institute of Pathology in Berlin, where he became head of the department of...
(1844-1923) 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...
, Georges Dreyer
Georges Dreyer
Georges Dreyer ForMemRS was a Danish pathologist.He was born in Shanghai, where his father was stationed as an officer with the Royal Danish Navy. In 1900 he earned his medical degree at the University of Copenhagen, and subsequently worked as a bacteriologist, which included time spent at Finsen...
(1873-1934) and Francis Gotch
Francis Gotch
Francis Gotch was a British neurophysiologist who was professor of physiology at University College Liverpool and Oxford University.He was educated at London University....
(1853-1913) at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.
In Copenhagen he was an assistant at the institutes of physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, bacteriology
Bacteriology
Bacteriology is the study of bacteria. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species...
, and general pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
, and assistant physician at the Rigshospitalet
Rigshospitalet
Rigshospitalet - Copenhagen University Hospital, or simply Riget, is the national hospital of Denmark, located in the capital city of Copenhagen, between the streets of Blegdamsvej, Tagensvej and Nørre Allé...
, the Kommunehospitalet as well as Bispebjerg
Bispebjerg
Bispebjerg is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It lies on the north border of the municipality. It covers an area of 5.39 km², has a population of 40,033, and a population density of 7,389 per km²....
Hospital.
He was habilitated in 1910 and in 1918 was appointed professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of hygiene
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
. His first works concern the study of metabolism, respiration and circulation, his later works nutritional hygiene and nutritional physiology. He is most known for his repolarization correction formula of the QT interval
QT interval
In cardiology, the QT interval is a measure of the time between the start of the Q wave and the end of the T wave in the heart's electrical cycle. In general, the QT interval represents electrical depolarization and repolarization of the left and right ventricles...
QTcF.
Fridericia went into hiding after the Nazi Occupation of Denmark
Occupation of Denmark
Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish...
and in 1943 was smuggled to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
hidden in a fishing boat. He then went to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he remained until the liberation. His wife, violinist Karen (Monies) Fridericia, died of overwork a few days after their return to Denmark, and her widower never really recovered from the shock. He died of an inoperable cancer that had affected his liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
, spleen
Spleen
The spleen is an organ found in virtually all vertebrate animals with important roles in regard to red blood cells and the immune system. In humans, it is located in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. It removes old red blood cells and holds a reserve of blood in case of hemorrhagic shock...
and aorta
Aorta
The aorta is the largest artery in the body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it branches off into two smaller arteries...
.
See also
- Fridericia's formula