Paracelsus

• c.1493 - 1541
• Pseudonym of Theophrastus von Hohenheim, Swiss polymath
• His choice of pseudonym suggests he felt himself to be above/beyond/better than Celsus, a first century physician
• Studied medicine and contributed a great deal to the understanding and treatment of disease
• Also interested in alchemy
• His critics thought him a charlatan who relied as much on magic and superstition as on scientific observation