Frank, Johann Peter (1748–1821)

German physician and public health pioneer. Frank's nine-volume System einer vollständigen medicinischen Polizei/A System of Complete Medical Policy (1779–1827) established him as the ‘father of public hygiene’. He believed the state to be responsible for the safeguard of public health and he dealt with many issues, including water supply, sanitation, and child welfare. A practising doctor, Frank became professor of clinical medicine at Vienna.