Barthold Rudolf Hast

Life & Legacy

Barthold Rudolf Hast (9 April 1724 – 27 August 1784) was a Finnish physician who played a leading role in the early development of healthcare in 18th-century Finland, then part of the Swedish kingdom. He was the first Finn to earn a Doctor of Medicine degree in Sweden and served for over three decades as provincial physician of Ostrobothnia. Hast was a pioneer of smallpox inoculation and contributed significantly to improving medical access by operating pharmacies in Vaasa an Oulu and establishing medicine stores in several coastal towns. He played a key role in founding a regional hospital in Vaasa, then only the second general hospital in Finland.