Biography

Kohn Móric, later known as Kaposi Mór, was born in Kaposvár into a poor but educated Jewish family. His father worked for the local Jewish community. He began his education at the Jewish elementary school in Kaposvár and then attended the Somssich Gymnasium, which had been in operation since 1812. After his family moved to Pozsony (now Bratislava), he completed his high school education there.In 1856, he started his medical studies at the University of Vienna, where he was awarded his medical doctorate on December 13, 1861. He further obtained surgical qualifications on April 14, 1862, and later a qualification in gynecology on July 12, 1866. Kaposi's education laid the foundation for his distinguished career in dermatology, where he made significant contributions to the field.Shortly before his marriage, Móric Kohn changed his name to Mór Kaposi and converted to Roman Catholicism, a gesture of respect for his birthplace, Kaposvár. On February 6, 1869, he married Martha Hebra, the daughter of his mentor and superior, Ferdinand von Hebra, a renowned dermatologist. Their marriage resulted in five children—three sons and two daughters. This union not only strengthened his personal life but also further solidified his position within the medical community of Vienna, where he continued to build his distinguished career in dermatology.

Career

Mór Kaposi's development and medical perspective were significantly influenced by Salomon Stricker, a fellow Hungarian and professor of general and experimental pathology at the University of Vienna. In 1864, Stricker was the first to observe that white blood cells could penetrate the walls of inflamed veins and to identify the transformation of connective tissue cells into white blood cells.In 1866, Kaposi became a young lecturer at the University of Vienna, where he taught dermatology and venereology (known then as "skin and syphilitic diseases") and was a private lecturer in syphilology, the study of syphilis. Although his work spanned a wide range of topics, he remained committed to the study of syphilis throughout his life. In 1875, he was appointed as an extraordinary professor, and after Ferdinand von Hebra's death on August 5, 1880, Kaposi took over the leadership of the dermatology clinic at the university.Kaposi's contributions marked significant advancements in almost all branches of dermatology. His most famous work, "Pathologie und Therapie der Hautkrankheiten in Vorlesungen für praktische Ärzte und Studierende" (Pathology and Therapy of Skin Diseases in Lectures for Practicing Physicians and Students), published in 1880, laid the modern foundations of dermatology and expanded upon the teachings of his mentor, Hebra. This book remains influential in dermatology to this day, with its last edition published in 1899 and translated into several languages, including English, Russian, and French. Another major work by Kaposi focused on syphilis of the skin and adjacent mucous membranes, in which he argued for the unity of venereal ulcers. While this view was subject to criticism, it remained accepted until the end of the 19th century.