Franciscus Donders
| Franciscus Cornelis Donders | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Franciscus Cornelis Donders |
|
| Born | May 27, 1818 Tilburg |
| Died | March 24, 1889 Utrecht |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Fields | ophthalmology |
| Institutions | Utrecht University |
| Known for | eye diseases |
Franciscus Cornelis Donders (Tilburg, May 27, 1818 - Utrecht, March 24, 1889) was a Dutch ophthalmologist. During his career, he was a professor of physiology in Utrecht, and was internationally regarded as an authority on eye diseases, directing the Netherlands Hospital for Eye Patients. Along with von Graefe and Helmholtz, he was one of the primary founders of scientific ophthalmology.
For several years he studied at the military medical school in Utrecht, earning his M.D. in 1840 from the University of Leiden. Following a stint as a medical officer in the Hague, he was appointed lecturer of physiology and anatomy at the Utrecht military medical school (1842). In 1847 he became an associate professor at Utrecht University, and in 1862 attained a full professorship in physiology (1862).[1]
He is known for his work and research of eye disease, and was among the first practitioners of the ophthalmoscope.[2] He is credited with invention of an impression tonometer (1862),[3] and for introduction of prismatic and cylindrical lenses for treatment of astigmatism (1860).[4]
Donders also was the first to use differences in human reaction time to infer differences in cognitive processing. He tested both simple reaction time and choice reaction time, finding that simple reaction was faster.[5] This concept is now one of the central tenets of cognitive psychology— while mental chronometry is not a topic in itself, it is one of the most common tools used for making inferences about processes such as learning, memory, and attention.
In 1864 he published the highly acclaimed "On the anomalies of accommodation and refraction of the eye".[6]
References
- ^ Picture, biography, bibliography and digitized sources in the Virtual Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
- ^ NCBI Franciscus Donders (1818-1889): ophthalmologist and physiologist
- ^ Instruments of science: an historical encyclopedia edited by Robert Bud, Deborah Jean Warner
- ^ Google Books An Introduction to the history of medicine by Fielding Hudson Garrison
- ^ Goldstein, E. B. Cognitive psychology, connecting mind, research, and everyday experience. Wadsworth Pub Co, 2010. Print.
- ^ Google Books On the anomalies of accommodation and refraction of the eye
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Franciscus Cornelis Donders |
- Newell, F W (Jun 1989), "Franciscus Cornelis Donders (1818-1889).", American journal of ophthalmology (1989 Jun 15) 107 (6): 691–3, ISSN 0002-9394, PMID 2658623
- Duke-Elder, S (Feb 1959), "FRANCISCUS CORNELIS DONDERS", The British journal of ophthalmology (1959 Feb) 43 (2): 65–8, doi:10.1136/bjo.43.2.65, PMC 509756, PMID 13628947
- ten DOESSCHATE, G (1951), "[The latest works of Franciscus Cornelis Donders.]", Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde (1951 Apr 7) 95 (14): 1096–7, PMID 14843224
- TEN DOESSCHATE, G (1951), "[The personality of Franciscus Cornelis Donders.]", Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde (1951 Nov 17) 95 (46): 3421–41, PMID 14919660
External links
- B. Theunissen. Franciscus Cornelis Donders 1818-1889, F.C. Donders: turning refracting into science, @ History of science and scholarship in the Netherlands.
- Picture, biography, bibliography and digitized sources in the Virtual Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
- P. Eling, Donders, Frans (1818-1889), Geneeskundige en fysioloog.
- Edwin Maes, Professor dr. Franciscus Cornelis Donders (Tilburg 27-5-1818, Utrecht 24-3-1889) Gravesite of Franciscus Donders.
- Obituary in:
"Obituary Notes". Popular Science Monthly 35. June 1889.
|
