Hans-Rudolf Wiedemann

{{short description|German pediatrician known for several rare disease syndromes}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Hans-Rudolf Wiedemann | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date|1915|2|16}} | birth_place = Bremen, Germany | death_date = {{death date and age|2006|8|4|1915|2|16}} | death_place = Kiel, Germany | citizenship = German | spouse = Gisela von Sybel | fields = Pediatrician, Teacher, Autograph collector | education = University of Freiburg, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, University of Hamburg, University of Lausanne, University of Jena | known_for = Rare diseases | doctoral_advisor = Yusuf Ibrahim | awards = }}

'''Hans-Rudolf Wiedemann''' (16 February 1915 in Bremen, Germany – 4 August 2006 in Kiel, Germany) was a German pediatrician, university professor, and autograph collector. __TOC__ ==Life== Wiedemann was born in Bremen. His father was a medical practitioner. His mother came from a medical family. Wiedemann studied medicine at the University of Freiburg, the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, the University of Hamburg, the University of Lausanne and the University of Jena.

In 1940, Wiedemann passed the state examination. With a doctoral thesis with Yusuf Ibrahim he was appointed doctor of medicine in 1941 at the University of Jena.<ref>Dissertation: ''Zur Frage der kindlichen Bleivergiftung (Über einen Fall tödlich verlaufener Bleieklampsie und zwei Fälle von Bleieinwirkung bei Kleinkindern)''.</ref> At the University of Jena, he wrote and researched jaundice.<ref>''Der konstitutionelle, familiäre, hämolytische Ikterus im Kindesalter'' (1946).</ref> He continued with specialist training in Bremen, Bonn and Münster.<ref>Fritz Hilgenberg: ''Erlebte Kinderheilkunde. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Kinderklinik der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster, gesammelt von Fritz Hilgenberg.'' Münster 1992, S. 32–37.</ref> As director of the Krefeld Children's Hospital, Wiedemann was one of the first to recognise the fatal side effects of thalidomide. While initially considered safe, thalidomide was responsible for teratogenic deformities in children born after their mothers used it during pregnancies, prior to the third trimester. In November 1961, thalidomide was taken off the market due to massive pressure from the press and public.<ref name="50year">{{cite news|title=Thalidomide: The Fifty Year Fight (no longer available)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NLbhOyLLMY|access-date=13 September 2015|publisher=BBC|date=15 May 2014}}</ref><ref>Wiedemann, Hans-Rudolf: ''Hinweis auf eine derzeitige Häufung hypo- und aplastischer Fehlbildungen der Gliedmaßen''. Medizinische Welt 37 (1961), S. 1863–1866.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dCcpBAAAQBAJ&dq=dr.+hans-rudolf+wiedemann&pg=PA6 GoogleBooks]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dCcpBAAAQBAJ&dq=Hans-Rudolf+Wiedemann&pg=PA6 Die Contergankatastrophe (2005)]</ref>

Kiel University appointed Wiedemann in 1961 as Chairman of Pediatrics.<ref>[http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/1001.html Hans-Rudolf Wiedemann (Whonamedit)]</ref> In 1977, he was chairman of the German Society for Paediatrics Medicine.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dgkj.de/ueber_uns/geschichte/praesidenten/ |title=DGKJ |access-date=2019-11-14 |archive-date=2017-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126164845/http://www.dgkj.de/ueber_uns/geschichte/praesidenten/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1980, he became professor emeritus.<ref>H.-R. Wiedemann: ''Beitrag zur Geschichte der Universitäts-Kinderklinik Kiel. Ansprachen und Reden an Gäste und Mitarbeiter 1963–1980''.</ref> Wiedemann collected and wrote several books about autographs with his wife Gisela von Sybel.<ref>''„Ein ganzes Heft Autographa!“ Die Sammlung Gisela und Hans-Rudolf Wiedemann''. Katalog der Handschriften im Deutschen Literaturarchiv. {{ISBN|978-3-929146-12-7}}.</ref>

Wiedemann died in Kiel in 2006.

==Honors== Among his honors are:{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} *Member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (1969)

*Honorary member of the German Society for Pediatrics (1982)

*Wiedemann–Steiner syndrome (named after)

*Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome (named after)

*Genée–Wiedemann syndrome (named after)

*The world of autographs - Gisela and Hans-Rudolf Wiedemann. German Schiller Society, Marbach am Neckar 1994.

==References== <references />

Category:German geneticists Category:German pediatricians Category:1915 births Category:2006 deaths Category:University of Freiburg alumni Category:LMU Munich alumni Category:University of Hamburg alumni Category:University of Lausanne alumni Category:University of Jena alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of Kiel