17Max Rubner

In 1873 Rubner began studies of medicine in Munich and Leipzig. In 1878 he received his doctorate for a dissertation ”On the Utilization of Some Foods in the Human Intestinal Canal“. This work laid the foundation for his later research on nutrition. From 1880 to 1885 Rubner worked as an assistant in physiology in Munich, spending one year as an assistant in physiology in Leipzig in 1881. He received his habilitation in 1883 with a thesis devoted to the calorific value of nutrients. In 1885 the University of Marburg appointed him to the Chair of Hygiene. The Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Berlin followed with an appointment to the Chair of Hygiene in 1891, as successor to Robert Koch, then in 1909 to the Chair of Physiology. From 1910 to 1911 Max Rubner served as rector of the University of Berlin. He later co-founded the Institute for Occupational Physiology of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, becoming its director in 1913.

Rubner’s physiological studies dealt with questions of the conservation of energy of the elements of food. He formulated the law of isodynamics, which states that carbohydrates, fats and proteins are interchangeable sources of energy for the body. He also formulated the surface hypothesis, which states that the energy turnover of an organism can be calculated depending on its surface area. In 1902 he published an influential book entitled, ”The Laws of Energy Consumption in Nutrition“.

As a hygienist, Rubner used his physical and chemical knowledge to study the effects of clothing, climate, air, water and the housing situation on health. One result was his ”Textbook of Hygiene“, published in 1888; another was his devotion to using hygienic principles in the construction of hospitals.

replica of a bust, Fritz Schapner, Gips, 1910