He established a hospital and treated the natives there. Here is all you want to know, and more! Dives represented opulent Europe, and Lazarus, with his open sores, the sick and helpless of Africa. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.". As a music scholar and organist, he studied the music of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach and influenced the Organ Reform Movement (Orgelbewegung). He summarized it once by saying: "A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help. Schweitzer's recordings of organ-music, and his innovative recording technique, are described below. life. Instead, he seemed to many observers to be a simple, almost rustic man, who dressed in rumpled clothing, suffered fools gladly, stated fundamental verities patiently and paternally ~ Albert Einstein. This house is now maintained as a Schweitzer museum.[78]. The hospital suffered from squalor and was without modern amenities, and Schweitzer had little contact with the local people. in 1913. For 158 years now, it has continued to be the well-worn and widely accepted conclusion that Albert, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria, died an untimely death by typhoid fever on 14 December 1861.Without recourse to detailed research or the challenging of past conclusions, this cause of death has been repeated from one source to the next as a given. His pamphlet "The Art of Organ Building and Organ Playing in Germany and France" (1906,[25] republished with an appendix on the state of the organ-building industry in 1927) effectively launched the 20th-century Orgelbewegung, which turned away from romantic extremes and rediscovered baroque principlesalthough this sweeping reform movement in organ building eventually went further than Schweitzer had intended. Schweitzer was a harsh critic of colonialism, and his medical mission was his response to the "injustices and cruelties people have suffered at the hands of Europeans.". "[66] Schweitzer believed dignity and respect must be extended to blacks, while also sometimes characterizing them as children. All Rights Reserved. ASF selects and supports nearly 250 new US and Africa Schweitzer Fellows each year from over 100 of the leading US schools of medicine, nursing, public health, and every other field with some relation to health (including music, law, and divinity). (He played Bach at Lambarene, too, on pianos especially lined with zinc to prevent rot.) Albert Schweitzer, born 1875 in Kaysersb erg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine in the German Empire, is perhaps mostly remembered for his work in Africa as a missionary. A Lutheran, Schweitzer challenged both the secular view of Jesus as depicted by historical-critical methodology current at this time, as well as the traditional Christian view. designed by rationalism, endowed with life by liberalism and clothed by modern theology in an historical garb.". The committee of this missionary society was not ready to accept his offer, considering his Lutheran theology to be "incorrect". Through concerts and other fund-raising, he was ready to equip a small hospital. Among children 1-59 months of age, ALRI was present in 51% of the deaths, and enteric diseases in 30%. up a ceaseless study of music. Here he often met with the elderly Aristide Cavaill-Coll. [20] Ernst Cassirer, a contemporaneous German philosopher, called it "one of the best interpretations" of Bach. Still gives us room for lofty doing. Our culture divides people into two classes: civilized men, a title bestowed on the persons who do the classifying; and others, who have only the human form, who may perish or go to the dogs for all the 'civilized men' care. "A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life, which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives . Dr. Albert Schweitzer who renounced fame and fortune as a musician 43 years ago - and who is on a visit to London - went to the Royal festival Hall yesterday - where he tried out the festival organ which he said ''She is magnificent - she is beautiful''. Reverence for Life Man's ultimate redemption through beneficent activity--the theme of Part II of Goethe's "Faust," a metaphysical poem much admired by Albert Schweitzer--threads through this extraordinary man's long, complex and sometimes curious Lambarene, on the Ogooue River a few miles from the Equator, is in the steaming jungle. His speech ended, "The end of further experiments with atom bombs would be like the early sunrays of hope which suffering humanity is longing for. Hundreds flocked to hear him and to importune him. The main hospital room and the By 1920, his health recovering, he was giving organ recitals and doing other fund-raising work to repay borrowings and raise funds for returning to Gabon. . In 1899, he astonished Widor by explaining figures and motifs in Bach's Chorale Preludes as painter-like tonal and rhythmic imagery illustrating themes from the words of the hymns on which they were based. Schweitzer's book (and other writings as well) disputed the theory that human progress toward civilization was inevitable. Albert Schweitzer's engagement with Judaism, and with the Jewish community more generally, has never been the subject of substantive discussion. Albert Schweitzer earned doctorates in philosophy and theology, had a reputation as one of Europe's finest organists, and came to international fame with his 1906 best seller . who founded the kingdom of Heaven upon earth, and died to give his work the final consecration, never had any existence," Schweitzer wrote. [30] According to a visitor, Dr. Gaine Cannon, of Balsam Grove, N.C., the old, dilapidated piano-organ was still being played by Dr. Schweitzer in 1962, and stories told that "his fingers were still lively" on the old instrument at 88 years of age. On the other hand, patients received splendid medical care and few seemed to suffer greatly from the compound's lack of polish. out, including Schweitzer's pet parrot (which was not taught to talk because that would lower its dignity) and a hippopotamus that once invaded the vegetable garden. This, "It is good to maintain and further life; it is bad to damage and destroy life. One of Schweitzer's major arguments in The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle is that Paul's mysticism, marked by his phrase "being in Christ", gives the clue to the whole of Pauline theology. Also like Goethe, on whose life and works he was expert, Schweitzer came near to being a comprehensive man. Schweitzer died on 4 September 1965 at his beloved hospital in Lambarn, now in independent Gabon. Her father, Charles Schweitzer, was the older brother of Albert Schweitzer's father, Louis Thophile. "The chorale not only puts in his possession the treasury of Protestant music," Schweitzer wrote, "but also opens to him the riches of the Middle Ages and of the sacred Latin music from It is a historical review of ethical thought leading to his own He planned to spread the Gospel by the example of his Christian labour of healing, rather than through the verbal process of preaching, and believed that this service should be acceptable within any branch of Christian teaching. J. S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in A major, BWV 536; Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 534; Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544; Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 538. Hospital workers, lepers, cripples and other patients gathered in the jungle heat as the body of the noted physician, scholar, philosopher and musician was lowered into the ground. He not only played throughout Europe, but he also repaired church organs and kept Dr. Albert Schweitzer was a physician, philosopher, theologian, organist and humanitarian. He also noted the lack of Africans trained to be skilled workers. brought to a halt lest nests of ants be killed or disturbed. Rachel Carson, 1963 Speech in Rachel Carson: Silent Spring & Other Writings on the Environment; Few authors in modern times can be said to have redirected the course of an entire field of study. The journalist James Cameron visited Lambarn in 1953 (when Schweitzer was 78) and found significant flaws in the practices and attitudes of Schweitzer and his staff. However, human consciousness holds an awareness of, and sympathy for, the will of other beings to live. [67] He summarized his views on European-African relations by saying "With regard to the negroes, then, I have coined the formula: 'I am your brother, it is true, but your elder brother. [28] Built especially for the tropics, it was delivered by river in a huge dug-out canoe to Lambarn, packed in a zinc-lined case. "Constant kindness can accomplish much. Albert Schweitzer. Much of the building work was carried out with the help of local people and patients. Footnote 126 Her devotion to Schweitzer's cause was manifested in a variety of ways and never in . at the drop of a cause. Dr. Howard Markel. Albert Schweitzer, OM (14 January 1875 - 4 September 1965) was a French-German theologian, organist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. Fine originally self-released the recordings but later licensed the masters to Columbia. Once in Lambarn, he established a small hospital at a station set up by the Paris Missionary Society. Of course, it had no telephone, radio or airstrip. 1. Later Dr. Trensz replaced Nessmann, and Martha Lauterberg and Hans Muggenstorm joined them. Albert Schweitzer and Max Gerson become lifelong friends after Dr. Gerson's therapy cured Schweitzer of his Type II diabetes, cured Albert's daughter of a chronic skin condition, and saved the life of Albert's wife, suffering from tuberculosis of the lung, which had not responded to conventional treatment. of self-imposed exile in Africa. [88] Biographer James Bentley has written that Schweitzer became a vegetarian after his wife's death in 1957 and he was "living almost entirely on lentil soup". On December 10, 1953 . The latter activity resulted in several volumes over the years that made his reputation as a major, albeit somewhat controversial, theologian. Having circulated a questionnaire among players and organ-builders in several European countries, he produced a very considered report. In July 1918, after being transferred to his home in Alsace, he was a free man again. It approaches Bach as a musician-poet and concentrates on his chorales; cantatas and Passion Three more, to contain the Chorale Preludes with Schweitzer's analyses, were to be worked on in Africa, but these were never completed, perhaps because for him they were inseparable from his evolving theological thought.[27]. the end came; at first Jesus believed that his Messianic reign would begin before his disciples returned from the teaching mission commanded of them in the Gospel according to St. Matthew. He took to playing the organ as soon as he was big enough to reach the pedals and amazed all who listened to him. 106 likes. He was theologian, musicologist, organ technician, physician and surgeon, missionary, philosopher of ethics, lecturer, writer and the builder and In the years that followed, the hospital grew by leaps and bounds, not only in terms of bricks and mortar but also in its delivery of comprehensive and modern health care. It could then affirm a new Enlightenment through spiritual rationalism, by giving priority to volition or ethical will as the primary meaning of life. This decision, protested vigorously by his friends, was, like so many others in his life, the product of religious meditation. Pain is a more terrible lord of mankind than even death itself. [45], Schweitzer contrasts Paul's "realistic" dying and rising with Christ to the "symbolism" of Hellenism. and time, making him inwardly free, so that he is fitted to be, in his own world and in his own time, a simple channel of the power of Jesus.". 17 Copy quote. sermons as well as to his scalpel, for he believed that the good shepherd saves not only the animal but also his soul. Respect for life, overcoming coarser impulses and hollow doctrines, leads the individual to live in the service of other people and of every living creature. Albert Schweitzer (1966). He also set in motion important ideas concerning our ethical treatment of animals . " Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall. This image has not been destroyed from outside; it has fallen to pieces[37], Instead of these liberal and romantic views, Schweitzer wrote that Jesus and his followers expected the imminent end of the world.[38]. These records did not satisfy him, the instrument being too harsh. During that year, his father, a Lutheran pastor, moved his wife and eldest son to Schweitzer concluded his treatment of Jesus with what has been called the most famous words of twentieth-century theology: "He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake-side, He came to those men who knew him not. But no such meaning was found, and the rational, life-affirming optimism of the Age of Enlightenment began to evaporate. In line with the 20th century he sought to put religion on a rational footing and to accept the advances of science; be cited than the fact--regarded locally as something of a miracle--of his own survival.". While he was on his sickbed, his terminally ill son cared for him despite battling a diagnosis that claimed his life a year later. Altogether his early Columbia discs included 25 records of Bach and eight of Csar Franck. People robbed native inhabitants of their land, made slaves of them, let loose the scum of mankind upon them. He is the director of the Center for the History of Medicine and the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan and the author ofThe Secret of Life: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick and the Discovery of DNAs Double Helix (W.W. Norton, September 21). Schweitzer to move his hospital to a larger site two miles up the Ogooue, where expansion was possible and where gardens and orchards could be planted. His autocracy was more noticeable as his years advanced and Dr. Schweitzer became especially famous for giving benefit concerts and lectures in Europe as a means of fundraising for his hospital back in Africa. Housed originally in the grounds of a mission, he chose to leave this comparative sanctuary for the unknown and forbidding regions of the jungle nearby. A complex man, to be sure, but his humanitarianism did affect the lives of many patients in desperate need of attention and, for the most part, he positively influenced the world in which he inhabited. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. [70] After three decades in Africa, Schweitzer still depended on Europe for nurses.[71]. Now, without context, it seems that Albert Schweitzer rejects the whole project of historical Jesus research. Under this title the book became famous in the English-speaking world. Then a single cardioid microphone is placed on axis, bisecting the figure-8 pattern. Such comments were, at the very least, a contradiction of his worldview of showing reverence for all human life in both deeds and words. He is the author or editor of 10 books, including Quarantine! J. S. Bach: Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582; Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 533; Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543; Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 541; Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565. years to science and art and then devote himself to the service of suffering humanity. In Reverence for Life, he concluded, "knowledge passes Today marks the 141st birthday of Dr. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965). Once, for instance, he all but halted the station's work when he received a letter from a Norwegian child seeking a feather from Parsifal, his pet pelican. I can do no other than to have compassion for all that is called life. This compromise arose after the Protestant Reformation and the Thirty Years' War. Heart disease was an uncommon cause of death in the US at the beginning of the 20th century. Instead, he conceives of sonship to God as "mediated and effected by means of the mystical union with Christ". He defended Jesus' mental health in it. Footnote 35 Not only has Jesus, according to Schweitzer, by his death and apparent failure, . Albert Schweitzer. Widely honored with degrees, citations, scrolls, medals, special stamps, even the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1952, he seemed oblivious to panoply. The list, alas, goes on and his prejudices are difficult, if not impossible, to ignore. ~ Albert Schweitzer. In those years he completed his doctoral thesis in philosophy, a study of Imanuel Kant's views on religion; studied the organ, again with Widor in Paris; won his doctorate in theology; was ordained a curate; taught theology and became principal of [7] The medieval parish church of Gunsbach was shared by the Protestant and Catholic congregations, which held their prayers in different areas at different times on Sundays. Yet, his legacy is not without controversy. He thought that Western civilization was decaying because it had abandoned affirmation of life as its ethical foundation. He received his M.D. His death was attributed to circulatory trouble brought on by his advanced age. Every man has to seek in his own way to realize his true worth. For him it had profound religious implications. [55] In early 1913, he and his wife set off to establish a hospital (the Hpital Albert Schweitzer) near an existing mission post. In a telegram that Mrs. Eckert sent to them from here Saturday, she said: "He is dying, inevitably and soon. Albert Schweitzer's Death - Cause and Date Born (Birthday) Jan 14, 1875 Death Date September 4, 1965 Age of Death 90 years Cause of Death Natural Causes Profession Doctor The doctor Albert Schweitzer died at the age of 90. September 24, 1965 1965 T he death of Albert Schweitzer on September 4 brought down the curtain on one of the greatest of human dramas. in 1913 with specialization qualifications in tropical medicine and surgery. Widor had not grown up with knowledge of the old Lutheran hymns. Everything was heavily decayed, and building and doctoring progressed together for months. Although several attempts have been made to restore and re-air the film, all access has been denied.[82]. He was popular for being a Doctor. "You must give some time to your fellow man," Schweitzer counseled in paraphrase. His medical degree dissertation was another work on the historical Jesus, Die psychiatrische Beurteilung Jesu. Schweitzer considered his ethic of Reverence for Life, not his hospital, his most important legacy, saying that his Lambarn Hospital was just "my own improvisation on the theme of Reverence for Life. He goes quietly, in peace and dignity. At the time of Dr. Schweitzers death, at age 90 in 1965, the compound comprised 70 buildings, 350 beds and a leper colony for 200. ", Called upon to be specific about Reverence for Life, he explained that the concept "does not allow the scholar to live for science alone, even if he is very useful to the community in so doing.". for Life. barred him from preaching at the station, but agreed to accept his medical skills. Paul stands high above primitive mysticism, due to his intellectual writings, but never speaks of being one with God or being in God. Drug advances for sleeping sickness included Germanin and tryparsamide[de; fi; it]. He was the son of Louis Schweitzer and Adle Schillinger. received, "freely give"; and the verse that urges men, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.". Their home in Knigsfeld has now been turned into a museum. By extreme application and hard work, he completed his studies successfully at the end of 1911. Eddie Albert was showered with all the love and care anyone could hope for during his last days. Albert Schweitzer 30. "Reverence for Life," Schweitzer replied, "means my answering your kind inquiries; it also means your reverence for my dinner hour." His co-workers [91], The prize was first awarded on 29 May 2011 to Eugen Drewermann and the physician couple Rolf and Raphaela Maibach in Knigsfeld im Schwarzwald, where Schweitzer's former residence now houses the Albert Schweitzer Museum. Jaroslav Pelikan, in his foreword to The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle, points out that: the relation between the two doctrines was quite the other way around: 'The doctrine of the redemption, which is mentally appropriated through faith, is only a fragment from the more comprehensive mystical redemption-doctrine, which Paul has broken off and polished to give him the particular refraction which he requires. Kaysersberg ( Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire) Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer. He progressed to studying for his Ph.D. in theology in 1899 at the Sorbonne, where he focused on the religious philosophy of Immanuel Kant. [89] In contrast to this, historian David N. Stamos has written that Schweitzer was not a vegetarian in his personal life nor imposed it on his missionary hospital but he did help animals and was opposed to hunting. 2 in B minor; no. Please check your inbox to confirm. Not only did he design the station, but he also helped build it with his own hands. Nobel Peace Prize. In 1955, he was made an honorary member of the Order of Merit (OM) by Queen Elizabeth II. "In reality, that which is eternal in the words of Jesus is due to the very fact that they are based on an eschatological world-view, and contain the expression of a mind Schweitzer's ethical system, elucidated at length in "The Philosophy of Civilization," is boundless in its domain and in its demands. Agriculture, not science or industrialization, is their greatest need. Although thousands of Africans called him "le grand docteur," others plastered his village with signs, "Schweitzer, Go Home! In 2016, he may be a somewhat forgotten, or even a controversial, figure but a half a century or more ago, the mere mention of the name Schweitzer instantly conjured up images of selflessness, heroism and the very model of a modern, humane physician. Albert "Ian" Schweitzer, Hawaii man imprisoned for Dana Ireland's 1991 murder and rape, released after lawyer presents new evidence - CBS News Watch CBS News Crime Hawaii man in prison for. The "realistic" partaking in the mystery of Jesus is only possible within the solidarity of the Christian community.[44]. It was said that he had scarcely ever talked with an adult African on adult terms. For seven years, from 1906 until he received his M.D. His Interpreters," published in English in 1912. Dr. Albert Schweitzer found no cancers in Africa at all as a doctor there from 1913 to 1930, and then found the chemicalized, European processed . Gerson died in 1959, eulogized by long-time friend, Albert Schweitzer M.D. In 1898, he returned to Paris to write a PhD dissertation on The Religious Philosophy of Kant at the Sorbonne, and to study in earnest with Widor. When Schweitzer was in residence at Lambarene, virtually nothing was done without consulting him. Darrell. With theological insight, he interpreted the use of pictorial and symbolical representation in J. S. Bach's religious music. In contemplation of the will-to-life, respect for the life of others becomes the highest principle and the defining purpose of humanity. 3 in A minor. [11] Schweitzer served his one-year compulsory military service in 1894. Albert Schweitzer (14. tammikuuta 1875 - 4. syyskuuta 1965) oli saksalais-ranskalainen (elsassilainen) teologi, muusikko, musiikkitieteilij, filosofi ja lkri. [8], Schweitzer's first language was the Alsatian dialect of German. Will Peace Living. Basketball, Argument, Life Is. In 1900, with the completion of his licentiate in theology, he was ordained as curate, and that year he witnessed the Oberammergau Passion Play. Albert Schweitzer studied the music of Johann Bach who was a German Composer. Medical mistakes claim about 400,000 people every year in U.S. Death, Cause unspecified 4 September 1965 at 11:30 AM in Lambarn (Age 90) . This was no sooner under way than Schweitzer fell ill, an epidemic of dysentery broke out and a famine set in. [80] With the $33,000 prize money, he started the leprosarium at Lambarn. Schweitzer came to French Equatorial Africa as a tall, handsome, broadly powerful young man with a shock of rich, black hair, an enormous mustache and a look of piercing determination in his bold eyes.