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immediately sought to send medical aid to the Faroes. Two
doctors were asked to take on the task.
One was twenty-six year old August Manicus. His father,
Claus Manicus, had been country surgeon on the Faroe
Islands from 1820-28. Accordingly, his son had spent his
childhood in Tórshavn and had been a playmate of both
Vencil Hammershaimb and Doffa.
The second doctor, the orange man, was better known as
Peter Ludvig Panum.
For five months, the two traveled the islands administering
medical aid. Panum also made a thorough examination of
Faroese living conditions. He scrutinized factors such as
housing, hygiene, diet, and food preparation – and he
recorded every last detail. He also described the clothing,
and the overall affect that weather had on the health of
body and soul.
His results were published in the doctors’ medical journal
Bibliothek for Læger in the spring of 1847.
Of course, before June 17, 1846, what no one, not even
Panum himself, realized was that his treatise would become
one of modern epidemiology’s great breakthroughs.