It is now 200 years since L. L. Finke wrote his treatise on a global medical geography, Versuch einer allgemeinen medicinisch-praktischen Geographie. It was both the most extensive book in substantive content, and the most detailed in conceptual discussion on medical geography written to that point. Although it is one of the foundation pieces of medical geography, modern day practitioners seldom refer to Finke's work. There are two main reasons for this: with the exception of two passages, the work has never been translated from the original German, and many contemporary medical geographers believe that the field only developed in the mid-twentieth century. This paper's purpose is to demonstrate that this last point is unfounded and that recognition of Finke's seminal contribution is long over-due. On the 200th anniversary of the publication of An Attempt at a General Medical-Practical Geography Finke's great achievement is honoured.
Geography Germany