The Koebner phenomenon was named after the rather eccentric but renowned German dermatologist Heinrich Koebner (1838–1904). Koebner is best known for his work in mycology.
His intense nature is illustrated by the following: in a medical meeting, he proudly exhibited on his arms and chest three different fungus infections, which he had self-inoculated, in order to prove the infectiousness of the organisms he was studying. The Koebner phenomenon is the generalized term applied to his discovery that on psoriasis patients, new lesions often appear along lines of trauma.