Herman Boerhaave

Herman Boerhaave
Born(1668-12-31)31 December 1668
Died23 September 1738(1738-09-23) (aged 69)
Leiden, Dutch Republic
NationalityDutch
EducationUniversity of Leiden (M.A., 1690)
University of Harderwijk (M.D., 1693)
Known forFounder of clinical teaching
Scientific career
FieldsMedicine
InstitutionsUniversity of Leiden
Theses
Academic advisorsBurchard de Volder
Notable studentsGerard van Swieten
Author abbrev. (botany)Boerh.

Herman Boerhaave (Dutch: [ˈɦɛrmɑm ˈbuːrˌɦaːvə], 31 December 1668 – 23 September 1738) was a Dutch chemist, botanist, Christian humanist, and physician. He is sometimes regarded as the founder of clinical teaching and of the modern academic hospital along with Venetian physician Santorio Santorio (1561–1636). Boerhaave introduced the quantitative approach into medicine, along with his pupil Albrecht von Haller (1708–1777). He was the first to isolate the chemical urea from urine. He was the first physician to put thermometer measurements to clinical practice. His motto was Simplex veri sigillum: 'Simplicity is the sign of the truth'. He is often hailed as the "Dutch Hippocrates".