Maximilian Joseph von Chelius

Maximilian Joseph von Chelius (January 16, 1794 - August 17, 1876) was a German surgeon and ophthalmologist who was born in Mannheim. He received his medical doctorate in 1812 at the University of Heidelberg, and afterwards was a civilian and military physician in Munich, and was an army surgeon in the last phases of the Napoleonic Wars (1814-15). In 1818 he returned to Heidelberg where he remained for the remainder of his career.

Chelius was a prime catalyst in the creation of the medical faculty at the University of Heidelberg, and is considered the founder of the surgical tradition at the facility. He was a professor at Heidelberg from 1818 until 1864, and was a specialist in ophthalmic surgery. One of his better-known patients was composer Frédéric Chopin, whom Chelius treated for sepsis of the finger. Afterwards, a grateful Chopin gave a private concert in Chelius' home. Today, the building where Chelius lived from 1830 until 1876 is the site of the Kurpfälzi Museum in Heidelberg.

Selected writings

 * Handbuch der Chirurgie: zu dem Gebrauche bei seinen Vorlesungen (Manual of surgery, derived from lectures); 1822
 * Zur Lehre von den Staphylomen des Auges (Concerning the theory of Staphylomen of the eye)
 * Handbuch der Augenheilkunde: zu dem Gebrauche bei seinen Vorlesungen (Manual of Ophthalmology, derived from lectures); 1844
 * Über die durchsichtige Hornhaut des Auges, ihre Function und ihre krankhaften Veränderungen (Book concerning the Function and Diseases of the Cornea)