The Samuel Hahnemann Monument, also known as Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, is a public artwork dedicated to German physician Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy. It is located on the east side of Scott Circle, a traffic circle in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The Classical Revival monument consists of an exedra designed by architect Julius Harder and a statue sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus, whose works include the John Paul Jones Memorial in Washington, D.C., and several statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection. The monument is significant because Hahnemann is the first foreigner not associated with the American Revolution to be honored with a sculpture in Washington, D.C. The monument was dedicated in 1900 following years of fundraising efforts by the American Institute of Homeopathy. Among the thousands of attendees at the dedication ceremony were prominent citizens including President William McKinley, Attorney General John W. Griggs, and General John Moulder Wilson. The monument was rededicated in 2000 and a restoration process was completed in 2011. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The monument and surrounding lot are owned and maintained by the National Park Service, a federal agency of the Interior Department.
History
Background Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843) was a German physician who created homeopathy, an alternative medicine system that is considered a pseudoscience. He studied chemistry and medicine at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, earning a medical degree in 1779. He was then appointed Surgeon-in-Chief at a hospital in Dresden and later served as superintendent of an insane asylum in Georgenthal. While serving on the faculty at Leipzig University, Hahnemann became disillusioned with standard medical procedures of the time, including over drugging and bleeding. He pursued what he considered "natural laws" of medicine, opposing allopathy and developed the "laws of similars" (similia similibus curantur, meaning like is cured by like). His unorthodox views were controversial at the time, but Hahnemann continued to pursue his homeopathic studies and published several works, including The Organon of the Healing Art (1810), Materia Medica Pura (1811–1821), and The Chronic Diseases, Their Peculiar Nature and Their Homeopathic Cure (1828). He is considered the greatest influence on the practice of homeopathy, which was very influential in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A monument honoring Hahnemann was first proposed in 1881 by physician James H. McClelland at a meeting of the Homeopathic Medical Society. It wasn't until June 1892 at the 45th Session of the American Institute of Homeopathy (AIH) that the organization agreed to undertake the project. Members of the nation's homeopathic community began raising funds, including the largest single donation of $4,510 by physician Nancy T. Williams. The AIH was assisted in its endeavor by the National Sculpture Society, which formed a committee to select an artist and design. The committee consisted of sculptors George Edwin Bissell, Daniel Chester French, and Olin Levi Warner, and architects Thomas Hastings and Russell Sturgis. A design competition was held with 25 models submitted. They were displayed at the American Academy of the Fine Arts in New York City, the first time a public exhibition of competition models was held in the country. The committee unanimously selected the model submitted by Charles Henry Niehaus (1855–1935).
Niehaus was a German-American from Ohio who attended the Royal Academy in Munich. In 1881, the Ohio state government commissioned him to create a statue of the recently assassinated President James A. Garfield. He moved to New York City in 1887 and opened a studio where his works included the pediments at the Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State and the doors of Trinity Church. Niehaus was best known for his portraiture work, including eight statues for the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol and two works for the Thomas Jefferson Building's Main Reading Room. His statue of John Paul Jones in Washington, D.C., is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Niehaus created Hahnemann's likeness by using a bust sculpted by David d'Angers that is now housed in the Saint Jacques Hospital in Paris. While funds were being raised for the monument, permission to install the structure in Washington, D.C., was a difficult and long process. Hahnemann was not an American and had never visited the country. Supporters of the monument lobbied members of Congress to support its erection, but President Grover Cleveland refused to sign the agreement. After the election of President William McKinley, supporters renewed their efforts and eventually won the support of many congressional members and the president. But in 1899, a congressional vote to authorize the monument being placed in Washington, D.C., failed. Members such as Representative L. Irving Handy of Delaware argued that only individuals who had distinguished careers in the military or civil branches of the national government should be honored in the city. Supporters finally won approval of Congress on January 31, 1900, when members voted to approve the monument's placement and appropriate $4,000 for its foundation. Hahnemann became the first foreigner not associated with the American Revolution to be honored with a sculpture in Washington, D.C. The site selected for the monument was chosen by a committee created by Congress. The committee included McClelland, who first proposed the monument, Senator George P. Wetmore and General John Moulder Wilson. The committee chose a site on the east side of Scott Circle "by reason of its abundant opportunities to display to the best advantage the delicate lines which are features of the artist's work." The architect chosen to design the monument was Julius Harder of the firm Israel and Harder. The statue was founded by the Gorham Manufacturing Company and the contractor was the Maine & New Hampshire Granite Company. The total cost of the monument and its installation was around $75,000.
Dedication
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