Count Cesare Mattei
(Founder of Electro homeopathy)
Cesare Mattei was born on January 11, 1809, into a prestigious landowning family in Bologna, Italy. He received a high-quality education befitting his status. However, Mattei’s life changed drastically when his father passed away while he was still a teenager, leaving him to manage the family’s vast estate. Mattei embraced this responsibility with dedication.
During this period, a conflict arose between Rome and Austria. In an act of patriotism, Mattei donated a significant portion of his land to support the national cause. Impressed by his generosity, the Pope awarded him the title of Count, elevating him to Count Cesare Mattei. This was a distinguished title in Italy, granted only to those who made exceptional contributions to the country. Along with this title, Mattei was appointed as a Lieutenant Colonel in the army, and later, a magistrate. Eventually, he was also elected as a Member of Parliament from Bologna. Despite these accomplishments, Mattei felt unfulfilled and resigned from his official positions to return to his estate.
It was during this time that Mattei’s life took a turn toward medical science. One day, while wandering through his estate gardens, he observed a dog suffering from a severe skin condition. The dog instinctively chewed the leaves of a plant and rolled in it. To Mattei’s amazement, the dog’s condition improved significantly within days. This event sparked his interest in natural healing, leading him to develop Electro Homeopathy, a new form of medicine, in 1865.
Mattei began treating patients in a part of his estate, offering care without charge. His fame spread beyond Italy, reaching other parts of Europe. Despite facing criticism from some, his work gained widespread admiration. Notable individuals such as Dr. Theodor Krause of Germany and Father Müller became his disciples and helped spread Electro Homeopathy. Mattei continued to serve patients and sent medicines to his supporters in different countries.
In 1880, he published his first book, The Principles of Electro Homeopathic Medicine, and his articles appeared in various magazines, marking the golden era of Electro Homeopathy. Cesare Mattei passed away on April 3, 1896. His funeral reportedly drew around 7,000 attendees, a testament to his impact and popularity. His legacy and the practice of Electro Homeopathy were passed on to his adopted son, ensuring that his contributions to medicine would not be forgotten.
“Great Successors of Count Cesare Mattei”
Dr. Theodore Krauss
Theodore Krauss (1864–1924), a notable figure in the evolution of electro-homeopathy, made significant contributions to this field and to the development of JSO Spagyric medicine, which is based on his methodologies. At the age of 56, following pivotal experiences with pharmacist Johannes Sonntag, Krauss established the “JSO Komplex Heilweise,” an exhaustive and comprehensive system of therapeutic knowledge.
The origins of this movement can be traced back to Count Cesare Mattei, who, in the early 1880s, founded a consortium in Regensburg for the promotion and sale of his electro-homeopathic remedies. By 1883, the consortium had relocated to the Engel Pharmacy in Regensburg, where it oversaw the distribution of remedies, publication of relevant literature, and provided guidance to a network of approximately 7,000 practitioners.
Around two years after its establishment, Krauss joined the consortium, working closely with Count Mattei until 1890. Following Mattei’s death in 1896, Krauss assumed control of the consortium and began expanding its scope. However, during the First World War, from 1914 to 1918, the supply of remedies from Italy was disrupted. In response, Krauss, alongside Dr. Johannes Sonntag, spearheaded the reproduction of these medicines, adhering closely to the original methodologies established by Mattei.
The system pioneered by Krauss evolved and came to be recognized as Electro-Complex Homeopathy, a precursor to what is now known as JSO Komplex Heilweise (JKH). After Krauss’s death in 1924, his work continued to flourish. His seminal text on electro-homeopathy, first published in 1920, has seen 14 editions to date in Germany. Moreover, the practice of Spagyric gained official recognition, securing a place in European medical practice and the German Pharmacopoeia.
Carl Friedrich Zimpel
In the 19th century, the German physician Carl Friedrich Zimpel, M.D., Ph.D. (1800–1878), embarked on a pioneering endeavor in the production of spagyric medicines. Originally trained as an engineer, Zimpel was a widely traveled and highly educated man who turned to the study of medicine later in life. He earned doctorates in both philosophy and medicine, distinguishing himself with a Prussian gold medal for art and science, as well as an honorary membership in the Mineralogical Society of the University of Jena.
By 1849, Zimpel had established himself in London as a homeopathic physician. His deep immersion in the works of Paracelsus and Johann Rudolf Glauber fueled his passion for the spagyric method—a form of alchemical medicine that integrates the body, soul, and spirit of plants into healing substances. At the age of 70, after significant experiences with Count Cesare Mattei (1809–1896), a key figure in electro-homeopathy, Zimpel published a book on the subject. His diligent work gradually led to the development of a spagyric production method now known as the “Zimpel Method.” This method is recognized in the German Pharmacopoeia (HAB), an internationally renowned pharmaceutical compendium.
Father Augustus Muller
Augustus Müller, born on 13 March 1841 in Westphalia, Germany, was a German Jesuit priest and missionary who dedicated his life to serving in India. He is particularly remembered for introducing Electro Homeopathy to the region. Father Müller was a follower of Count Cesare Mattei, the Italian founder of Electro Homeopathy, and brought this alternative medical practice to India around 1880.
Father Müller established the Electro Homeopathy Charitable Leprosy Hospital in Mangalore (in the present-day Karnataka district). A statue of Count Mattei stands in the hospital, along with an inscription mentioning Mattei’s donation, symbolizing Müller’s deep connection with Electro Homeopathy. Prior to World War I, Müller consistently requested Electro Homeopathy medicines from Italy, using them to treat patients.
However, during and after World War I, difficulties in obtaining these medicines from Italy, partly due to the indifference of Venturoli Mattei (adopted son of Cesare Mattei), forced Müller to turn to homeopathy as an alternative. Despite the shift, his contributions to health care in Mangalore remained invaluable.
Father Augustus Müller passed away on 1 November 1910 in Kankanady, Mangalore, leaving behind a legacy of service and innovation in healthcare for the underserved.
Dr. Nand Lal Sinha
Dr. Nand Lal Sinha was born on November 30, 1889, in Lucknow. He began practicing electro-homeopathic medicine in 1908 in the district of Sitapur (UP). In 1911, he earned his MDEH from the Superior Independent School of Applied Medical Science in London, under the headmastership of Dr. H.W. Anderschow. In 1912, Dr. Sinha established an electro-homeopathic institution in Sitapur, where he practiced until 1918. He authored a book titled Fundamental Laws and Materia Medica of Electro Homeopathy, which he published and sent to various countries, including Italy, France, and Germany, where it was translated into multiple languages such as French and German.
In 1920, Dr. Sinha founded the National University of Electro Complex Homeopathy in Kanpur, from which thousands of students have graduated and gone on to practice electro-homeopathy. Between 1925 and 1938, he expanded his work through the publication of weekly and monthly newsletters such as Chitranshi, Dhanvantari, and Najat. In 1941, he founded the Electro Complex Homeopathic Cooperative Society to further the development and dissemination of electro-homeopathy. This period saw a surge in interest, with many homeopathic physicians, including Dr. Radha Madhav Halder, Dr. H.D. Banerjee, Dr. D.K. Paul, and Dr. Yudhveer Singh (the founder of Jawaharlal Nehru Homeopathic College in Delhi and a former health minister of Delhi), adopting and practicing electro-homeopathy successfully. They also contributed to the literature on the subject.
Dr. Nand Lal Sinha’s contributions to the 100-year journey of electro-homeopathy in India are invaluable. He spent his life promoting the field, authoring literature, and training thousands of students at the colleges run by his organization across the country. He passed away on August 30, 1979, marking the end of one of the brightest pioneers of electro-homeopathy in India, but his legacy continues through the countless followers he left behind.