Johann Friedrich Schweitzer orSweitzer, usually known asHelvetius (/hɛlˈviːʃəs/;[1] January 17, 1630 – August 29, 1709), was a Dutch physician andalchemical writer of German extraction. He is known for his booksIchts aus Nichts, für alle Begierigen der Natur published in 1655,Vitulus Aureus (The Golden Calf), published in 1667 under the pseudonym Joakim Philander, andMiraculo transmutandi Metallica, Antwerp, 1667.
Helvetius was born or baptized 17 January 1630 inKöthen (Anhalt)[2] as the son of the jurist Balthazar Sweitzer (Schweitzer, Helvety of Helvetius) and Anna Braunin.[3] He arrived in 1649 in theDutch Republic, where he obtained a degree at theUniversity of Harderwijk in 1656 with a dissertationdePeste. He first lived in Amsterdam, but subsequently moved toThe Hague,[3] where he became a physician to thePrince of Orange-Nassau (later to beWilliam III of England).[4] He wrote numerous books on herbs and medicine in Dutch, German, and Latin.[4]
He is notorious for the story that he actually carried outtransmutation of lead into gold.[5] He is said to have knownBaruch Spinoza.[6]
Helvetius married Johanna Pels (1643–1709) in July 1658 in The Hague.[2] They had 16 children,[3] includingAdriaan Helvetius (1662–1727), who introduced the use ofipecac in his position at the French court and was the father of anothercourt physician,Jean-Claude-Adrien Helvétius (1685–1755).[4] The philosopherClaude-Adrien Helvétius (1715–1771) was a son of the latter.[7]
Helvetius died 29 August 1709 in The Hague.
