Franz Gerhard Wegeler

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Franz Gerhard Wegeler
Franz Gerhard Wegeler

Franz Gerhard Wegeler (May 7, 1769 - 1848) was a German physician from Bonn, who was a childhood friend of Ludwig van Beethoven. He studied medicine at the Universities of Bonn and Vienna. After finishing his studies in Austria, he returned to Bonn, where he became a professor (1789) and rector (1793) at the university. In 1794 he fled Bonn during the French Revolutionary Wars, and returned to Vienna where he renewed his friendship with Beethoven. After spending two years in Vienna, he returned to Bonn as an instructor and a general practioner of medicine. In 1807 he moved to Koblenz, where he joined the Prussian Civil Service and won several prestigious awards.

Although a distinguished doctor, Wegeler is remembered for his 1838 biography of Beethoven which he published with composer Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838), eleven years after Beethoven's death. Historians consider these memoirs to be an important and reliable source of information regarding the life of the great composer.

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