Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 45. (Budapest, 1968)
TANULMÁNYOK - József Antall: Sándor Lumniczer and the Medical School of Pest (Angol nyelvű közl.)
THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE Old wishes, often dreamt of hopes seemed near to realisation when the European revolutions broke out in the spring of 1848 and Metternich's system, the Holy Alliance, collapsed. Vienna now meant the revolutionary Vienna, not the Emperor's town, Pest and Buda meant Hungary, throwing off her feudal bonds, bidding for the return of her national independence. It is no wonder that the returning Lumniczer can be found among the champions of revival. The minister of Public Education in the newly formed Batthyány-government, József Eötvös entrusted not only the conduct of medical affairs, but the management of the University as well on Lumniczer's master, Balassa. Markusovszky and Lumniczer stood beside Balassa, who was the medical depositary and expert of Eötvös's reforming policies (in medical affairs). But the hope in peaceful transformation, in painless revival soon eclipsed. The ebb of the revolutionary wave, the tormenting national antagonisms, and the Viennese imperial government recovering their senses soon made even the optimists realize the approaching danger. Shortly after his return Lumniczer started to lecture at the university on military surgery —with great success. The Magyars were the crossroads and they chose to fight. In the summer and autumn of 1848 the gory drama was unfolding, but not all its players could play it to the end. No doubt, this depended on the role, too. Some of the politicians, scared of the events, emigrated, or retired from the political life, but the physicians—even without radical political views—were bound by their profession to the fighting people. Following the outbreak of the fight, the Hungarian War of Independence, the ophtalmological and surgical clinics of the university were converted into army ("honvéd") hospitals under the direction of Balassa and Markusovszky. They operated until the fall of the capital, the 1st of January, 1849. But Lumniczer, still in the August of 1848, joined the fighting Army and was appointed battalion chief surgeon. He took part in the battle of Schwechatand in nearly all the bigger battles of the winter and summer campaign in Artúr Görgey's army. On Görgey's proposition in February, 1849, Lázár Mészáros, Minister of War, appointed him to surgeon-major, a post he had practically filled since January 1849 [16]. He proved to be an excellent organizer, Görgey himself stressed his merits in organizing quick medical intervention and treatment. His instructions for the Upper Danubian Army issued at Kassa (1849) served as an example in organizing medical service at the other military units [17,20]. In the middle of the spring campaign he was appointed superintending surgeon-major at Görgey's army. The first chief medical officer of the "Honvéd" army of the War of Independence was Ignác Stáhly, the former state chief medical officer. Although he laid the foundations, his personality was not suitable for extraordinary situations. He did not follow the government to Debrecen and some months later he died. His place was taken by Ferenc Flór, a confidant of Kossuth, an outstanding character of the Hungarian medical science, under whose leadership medical
