Famous Polish Physicians

L. L. Zamenhof was an ophthalmologist best remembered for creating the most widely spoken international auxiliary language, Esperanto. He came up with the constructed language after being consumed by the idea of a warless world. L. L. Zamenhof received several honors for creating Esperanto, including the Légion d'honneur. He also received 12 nominations for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.

Jewish Polish-born-Canadian physician and activist Henekh Morgentaler, CM, is noted for his abortion rights advocacy and commitment to enhance healthcare for women. He is counted among the first Canadian doctors who carried out vasectomies for inserting intrauterine devices to prevent pregnancies and provided birth-control pills to unmarried women. He became the first doctor in North America who used vacuum aspiration.

Russian-Polish physician Leon Pinsker didn’t just practice medicine in Odessa but also pioneered the Zionist movement, setting the stage for activists such as Theodor Herzl. His enthusiasm to get equal rights for Jews was cut short by the Odessa Pogroms. He established the Hovevei Zion in response to such pogroms.