Johann Michael Leupoldt

Who was Johann Michael Leupoldt?

Johann Michael Leupoldt was a German psychiatrist born in Wießenstadt, Bavaria.

In 1818 he obtained his medical doctorate at the University of Erlangen, and following graduation taught classes at Erlangen in anatomy and physiology and also gave lectures on mental illness. In 1820 he received a grant from the Bavarian government to continued his education in psychiatry in Berlin. While working in the mental ward at the Charité, he made the acquaintanceship of Anton Ludwig Ernst Horn and Johann Gottfried Langermann. In 1821 he became an associate professor at Erlangen, followed by a full professorship in 1826.

He was a primary force in creation of the first mental hospital in Bavaria, and for 17 years was chairman of the Erlanger Societas physica-medica.