Paracelsus

About Paracelsus

The Swiss physician and philosopher Paracelsus (1493–1541) stands as a foundational, if controversial, figure in modern medicine, earning an HPI Rank of #419. He was a radical figure of the Northern Renaissance who rejected established Galenic principles, championing observation and early chemical methods in treatment. His contributions included pioneering the use of minerals and chemicals in therapy, often considered the birth of toxicology, and advancing medical concepts like the vital force, making him profoundly influential across medical history.

In the modern context of online attention, Paracelsus is moderately visible, logging 399K annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This results in an Attention Gap of approximately 1x, suggesting his online visibility is relatively commensurate with his historical importance compared to the general population of figures. For context, this is far less attention than figures like Florence Nightingale (1.5M views, #650 importance) or Josef Mengele (2.2M views, #488 importance) who are in the same general medical field but receive significantly more search traffic.

While his overall attention is balanced, the data shows a minor erosion in current interest, with a Q1 vs Q3 Momentum drop of -15% throughout 2025, indicating that while historically important, his current digital footprint is slightly shrinking.