Dear colleagues,
Just as last year began with the 225th birthday of the namesake of our Constantin Hering Foundation, we are also starting the new year with an anniversary: January 30, 2026, marks the 225th anniversary of the birth of Georg Heinrich Gottlieb Jahr.
Only one year younger than Hering and also raised in Saxony, he too discovered homeopathy in his twenties. It remained a defining influence for the rest of his life. Like Hering, he came into direct contact with Hahnemann (in person, Hering by letter), was committed to spreading the healing method, advocated for the training of young homeopaths, and left behind valuable reference books. And yet the two personalities were fundamentally different.
Jahr, with his patience and his joy in systematically penetrating and organizing knowledge, found fulfillment in religiously influenced, uplifting poetry in addition to his medical work. Hering, on the other hand, was drawn to experimental work: he expanded the Materia Medica with new drug trials and showed his spirited side in cryptic, humorous prose.
They never met; nor is there any known correspondence between them. Whether they agreed on all technical issues remains open. However, there is no doubt that they respected each other: Jahr repeatedly referred to the “tireless and witty Dr. Hering” in his teachings and principles, while Hering praised the “various diligent works of Doctor Jahr.”
This should encourage us: regardless of how social and health policy conditions develop, each and every one of us can contribute with our own abilities to permanently anchoring homeopathy in the healthcare system. And in doing so, we can also recognize and appreciate the efforts of our colleagues.
The work that Hahnemann and his students began—and which we want to continue today with a view to the scientific state of the 21st century—is a generational project. This makes perseverance, cooperation, and trust in our common goal all the more important.
Incidentally, the next anniversary is just around the corner: March 22, 2026, marks the 200th anniversary of Constantin Hering's doctoral examination.
Ilka Sommer | Member of the expert committee and project manager for the CHS library |
