Le corps médical genevois en politique de la Restauration à « l’affaire Coindet » (1814-1856)

Abstract

Before the Revolution, practitioners with degrees in medicine or surgery held few notable political positions in Geneva. However, after that period, particularly in the first half of the 19th century, many of them began pursuing political careers while continuing to practice their profession. Why did they choose to get involved in political life? What incentives or constraints did they consider? And how did this political role influence the internal dynamics within their professional community? Focusing on the decades preceding the well-known emergence of “doctor-politicians” thus allows us to decipher an important phenomenon, shedding new light on the public involvement of doctors in the 19th century.

Keywords

• politics
• 19th century
• corporatism
• Antoine Baumgartner
• radicalism