Oswald Berkhan

Oswald Berkhan (19 March 1834 – 15 February 1917) was a German physician.

Born in Blankenburg am Harz, he was one of the initiators of the "Idioten-Anstalt Neuerkerode" (institution for people with mental illnesses), which was thought to be a sanctuary for disabled and ill people. He was also a dedicated reformer of special education schools.

He was the first person to identify dyslexia, in 1881,[1] though the term "dyslexia" was coined several years later (in 1887) by Rudolf Berlin, who was an ophthalmologist in Stuttgart.[2]

Berkhan died in Braunschweig.

Publications (selected)
  • 1863: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Psychiatrie ... 1. Heft. Das Irrenwesen der Stadt Braunschweig in den früheren Jahrhunderten
  • 1889: Ueber Störungen der Sprache und der Schriftsprache
  • 1899: Über den angeborenen und früh erworbenen Schwachsinn
  • 1902: Über den angeborenen oder früh sich zeigenden Wasserkopf (Hydrocephalus internus) und seine Beziehungen zur geistigen Entwickelung
  • 1910: Das Wunderkind Christian Heinrich Heineken
  • 1910: Otto Pöhler, das frühlesende Braunschweiger Kind

Legacy

In 2016, Oswald Foundation, an accessibility technology company named after Berkhan,[3][4] was established to build products for individuals suffering from disabilities.[5]

See also

References
  1. Berkhan O (1917). "Uber die Wortblindheit, ein Stammeln im Sprechen und Schreiben, ein Fehl im Lesen". Neurologisches Centralblatt. 36: 914–927.
  2. Wagner, Rudolph (January 1973). "Rudolf Berlin: Originator of the term dyslexia". Annals of Dyslexia. 23 (1): 57–63. doi:10.1007/BF02653841. S2CID 144650069.
  3. "Anand Chowdhary on Twitter". Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  4. "Accessibility · Oswald Foundation". Oswald Foundation. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
  5. "Oswald Foundation". oswald.foundation. Retrieved 2016-09-06.


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