Heinrich Irenaeus Quincke (1842-1922): the Nobel Prize but for the problem of age.

Born in 1842 in Frankfurt an der Oder, Heinrich Irenaenus Quincke (figure 1) was the youngest of four sons of a titled physician, Hermann Quincke. His mother’s predecessors were of the Huguenot faith and had fled to Germany following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. They were textile merchants. At his baptism, Heinrich received his name Irenaeus as witnessed by 13 honourary god-fathers [1]. The family moved to Frankfurt am Main where the young Heinrich was raised in comfortable surroundings but in strict Prussian fashion. Adept at mathematics [2], he attended private school and was a serious, ambitious and extraordinarily correct student. It was here that Heinrich met Bernhard Naunyn who became his lifelong ‘‘true friend’’ [2] and colleague. In keeping with the tradition of the Hohenzollern dynasty which ruled Germany until 1918, that a young man learn a useful, practical skill, Quincke chose wood-working as his handicraft and built a desk that he used throughout his life. His technical aptitude was applied to the designing of many inventions e.g., his spinal needle (figure 2), the Closetdouche [3], and for improving a monoaural stethoscope in 1870 [4]. The German Patent Office certified, however, that he never applied for any patent. Quincke began his medical training at the age of 16 in Berlin and then moved both to Würzburg and Heidelberg before returning to Berlin where he completed his studies at the age of 21. After qualifying, in keeping with custom, he visited hospitals abroad in Switzerland, Paris and London. It was these trips which led to Quincke’s belief that the light and airy conditions of these ‘‘ideal’’ hospitals and their salutary gardens offered the patients a much needed sense of well being. This became a lifelong predilection for him. Heinrich married Bertha Wrede, 12 years his junior and the daughter of a prosperous family in Frankfurt. His father was their physician. The couple led a harmonious life except they had no children. Quincke’s marriage made him independently wealthy. Bertha was an elegant hostess who enjoyed a good life. In addition to her making fashion jaunts to Paris with the wife of one of her husband’s colleagues, the couple often visited Switzerland and travelled to Rome, Athens, and Constantinople. Later in life, Heinrich suffered from two episodes of depression. Rest in Algers and Nervi along with the support by colleagues close to him proved effective. Quincke had his peculiarities. The window of his bedroom faced the east to catch the morning sun. He slept with his window