Johann Martin Honigberger

Johann Martin Honigberger
Born	(1795-03-10)10 March 1795 Kronstadt, Transylvania
Died	18 December 1869(1869-12-18) (aged 74) Kronstadt, Austria-Hungary
Medical career
Profession	Physician
Notable works	Thirty-five Years in the East ... Relating to the Punjab and Cashmere ..., 1852

Johann Martin Honigberger (10 March 1795 – 18 December 1869) was an Imperial Austrian physician and traveller. He travelled through Asia to India and wrote a book on his experiences in the East. A novel based on his life, written by Mircea Eliade in 1940, The Secret of Dr. Honigberger, became popular.

Early life

Honigberger was born to a

In 1829, he arrived in Lahore which was then the capital of the Sikh Empire. He would remain in the Punjab for the next twenty years save for an interlude in Europe. During his time in the Punjab, he was fondly known as 'Martin Sahib'.^[3] In Lahore, he initially treated East India Company soldiers before he was able to attract the attention of the Ranjit Singh who made him a court physician.

In 1834, he returned to Europe, following the road across the

In 1838, he returned to Lahore at the request of Ranjit Singh.[5]^[6][7] Despite winning the favour of Ranjit Singh, Honigberger held an unflattering opinion of the Maharaja, describing him as of very low stature. Ranjit Singh offered him command of an artillery battalion, but Honigberger refused on want of not being a soldier, eventually however he accepted an appointment as superintendent of the royal gunpowder factory.^[7]

He kept an account of his time in the Punjab, and noted that quarantine was frequently used in the management of plague in Punjab.^[8] In 1839 Honigberger was present at the funeral of Ranjit Singh, a ceremony he described as abominable, and of which he wrote a detailed account of the burning of four of his widows, and seven concubines.^[7] The following year he attended the funeral of Kharak Singh, describing it as horrid yet remarkable, in which three of Kharak Singh's widows were burnt alive along with eleven concubines.^[7]

Plants

Honigberger was a keen plant collector and whilst in the India he compiled a materia medica of his discoveries. He is credited with organising the first botanical collections in Afghanistan, undertaken on a journey in 1833.^[8]

Homeopathy

During his stay in Europe in the mid-1830s he met Samuel Hahnemann and was influenced by the idea of homeopathy. He became a student of homeopathy and is said to be responsible for its introduction to Asia, notably using homeopathic remedies to cure the Maharajah's paralysed vocal chords.^[9]

References

External links

• Thirty-five years in the East. Adventures, discoveries, experiments, and historical sketches, relating to the Punjab and Cashmere