Herman Wedel Major as seen by Johan Scharffenberg. A critical reassessment
Haukeland, R.; Major, H.W.; Scharffenberg, J.
Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening Tidsskrift for Praktisk Medicin Ny Raekke 113(30): 3703-3708
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0029-2001 PMID: 8278955 Document Number: 421269
Herman Wedel Major (1814-54) was Norway's first psychiatrist. Through his fierce engagement on behalf of the mentally disordered Norway became, in 1848, the 4th country in the world, just behind France, England and Switzerland, to establish a humane law which provided protection and treatment of people suffering from mental disorders. This law was way ahead of its time. In this article I focus on the fact that J. Scharffenberg (1869-1965), on insufficient grounds, has given Major a reputation which does not agree with the concept of Major and his life's work held by his family. This lack of conformity was confirmed in 1911 by P. Winge (1857-1920). Scharffenberg wrote his first article 60 years after Major's death. He claimed to have found evidence for his theory that Major became mentally ill. On the basis of Scharffenberg's conclusions this fallacy has hence been recorded in Norwegian medical history.