Genus Heimia

For Ernst Ludwig Heim (1747–1834), German physician, amateur botanist and mycologist (person who studies mosses). In 1772 he received his PhD from the University of Halle and thereafter served as medical officer in the rural districts of Spandau and Osthavelland before moving to Berlin in 1783, where he became the prototype of the faithful family physician (‘Old Heim’ is a symbolic figure for responsible medical activities). In 1822, on the 50th anniversary of earning his PhD, he was made an honorary citizen of Berlin in recognition of his decades of altruistic service, treating the poor free of charge. He is said to have introduced the Jennerian vaccination (a procedure using cowpox matter to prevent smallpox) to Berlin in 1798.