Karl Gustav Himly

Karl Gustav Himly (April 30, 1772 - March 22, 1837) was a German surgeon and optician from Braunschweig. He studied medicine at the University of Würzburg under Karl Kaspar von Siebold (1736-1807), and at the University of Goettingen under August Gottlieb Richter (1742-1812). In 1795 he became a professor at the hospital in Braunschweig, and in 1801 succeeded Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland (1762-1836) as professor of medicine at the hospital in Jena.

In 1803 he was professor of surgery at the University of Goettingen, where he worked with Konrad Johann Martin Langenbeck (1776-1851), and his former teacher August Richter. In 1809, Himly was instrumental in establishing a new hospital in Goettingen. Two of his students were Karl Friedrich Heusinger (1792-1883) and Friedrich August von Ammon (1799–1861). Himly's son, Ernst August Wilhelm Himly (1800-1881) was a noted physiologist.

Himly was a pioneer in the field of ophthalmology. He is credited for introducing the scientific application of mydriatics into European medicine. He also did research regarding the possibilities of corneal grafting, and was the first to suggest replacing an opaque cornea of one animal with a clear cornea of another animal. In 1802, with Johann Adam Schmidt (1759-1809) he began publication of Ophthalmologische Bibliothek, which was the first magazine dedicated to ophthalmic medicine in Germany. From 1809 until 1814 he published a journal of practical medicine with Christoph Hufeland.