Gustav Biedermann Günther

Life & Legacy

Gustav Biedermann Günther (22 January 1801 in Schandau – 8 September 1866 in Leipzig) was a German surgeon and orthopedist.
From 1818 to 1824, he studied medicine and surgery at the University of Leipzig, obtaining his doctorate with the thesis "Analecta ad anatomiam fungi medullari". While still a student, he embarked on a scientific journey with ornithologist Ludwig Thienemann to Norway and Iceland. In 1825 he began work as an assistant to Johann Karl Georg Fricke (1790–1841) in the surgical department at the general hospital in Hamburg. In 1829 he settled as a general practitioner in Hamburg, where in 1831 he founded an orthopedic institute.
In 1837 he was appointed professor of surgery at the University of Kiel and director of the Friedrichhospital. From 1841 until his death in 1866, he served as a professor of surgery at the University of Leipzig.