As far back as the early eighteenth century the Büchners had been medical men.¹ Ludwig's father studied medicine in Holland, where two of his uncles had established themselves as doctors. From there he entered the Dutch and then the French army as a regimental surgeon. After accompanying Napoleon's troops throughout Europe Ernst Büchner studied for a while in Paris before taking up a short-lived Dutch civil service position. In Germany he entered the service of the Grand Duke in Reinheim, and in 1816 became a medical councilor in Darmstadt. Much remains unclear about his life, especially concerning his medical studies outside Germany. We do know that he finished his degree at Giessen in 1811, and that he was married a year later to Caroline Reuss, a cousin of Eduard Reuss, the noted theologian and orientalist. Of the eight children of the marriage, four earned reputa¬tions far greater than that of their father.²