Professor Hubbenet and his roots in Latvia

Christian von Hubbenet (1821-1873) was a Baltic German physician, a professor in surgery at the University of Kyiv. Hubbenet was once renowned throughout the Russian Empire, but now he has been long since forgotten. The purpose of this innovative research is to define the birthdate and place of the professor with precision and to find his grave in Latvia. Metrics from the Latvian Archive of State History could be used. Hubbenet was born at the Podsem Manor (Podzēni) in Livland on May 31, 1821. The family later moved to the Ulpisch Manor, where the dynasty lived for a longer period of time. He studied medicine at the University of Dorpat from 1839 until 1844. Hubbenet began his career in Kazan, returning to Dorpat after three years to earn his doctorate in medicine. He moved to Kyiv and directed the Department of Forensic Medicine at the University of St Vladimir. During a cholera epidemic in 1848-49, Hubbenet ran a treatment department at a military hospital in Kyiv while at the same time researching the dangerous disease. Results based on clinical observations and autopsies of more than 100 cadavers were published in in St Petersburg, Leipzig and Riga. Hubbenet particularly distinguished himself during the Crimean War. He was the second most outstanding surgeon in Sevastopol after Nikolay Pirogov. After the war, Hubbenet chaired the Kyiv Medical Association for nearly 10 years. He took part in conferences in Western Europe and moved to St Petersburg in 1870. There he contracted typhoid and died suddenly on his way to Vilnius on July 3, 1873. His remains were brought through Riga to the Ulpisch Manor (now Stiene), where he was probably buried. This year is the 200th anniversary of the distinguished professor's birth, so let us honour his investment in the history of medicine.