Ingenhousz, Jan (1730-1799)

Dutch physician and scientist.

Studied and practiced medicine in the Netherlands before going to England (c. 1764), where he worked with John Pringle.

Became acquainted with Franklin, presumably through Pringle, who sent Ingenhousz to Vienna to inoculate the royal family of Austria against smallpox (1768).

Court physician to Joseph II and Maria Theresa of Austria (1769-79), although he traveled in England with Franklin and Jonathan Williams, Jr. in 1771.

Franklin attempted to bolster Austrian support for the American cause through Ingenhousz during the Revolutionary War. In 1779, Ingenhousz returned to England where he pursued scientific and medical interests until his death.

Born in Breda, the Netherlands.