Here is information on a real person on whom the fictional character may have been based, in part. Note the link to photography in this man's life:
'Real-life Frankenstein who inspired Mary Shelly
Don Lemmon
An alchemist who may have influenced the literature of mad science was Johann Konrad Dippel (1673-1734). A man of great pride, he felt no limitations to his intellect and was interested in pursuing the great mysteries. When he registered at the University of Giessen (sixty miles north of the real Castle Frankenstein near Darmstadt, Germany), he registered as "Franckensteina." Dippel is remembered these days for a few achievements. He was the formulator of Dippel's oil, a nerve stimulant and anti-spasmodic once widely used. The discovery of the chemical potassium ferrocyanide used in the artists' pigment Prussian blue was his. Dippel was a pioneer in psychosomatic medicine as well. Like the fictional character Dr. Frankenstein, he was an ardent vivisectionist, had ideas on how to restore life to the dead, and he was reportedly interested in performing his many secret researches in Castle Frankenstein, though his death ended his attempts to secure the place. Those electric shockers EMT's use to revive you stem from Dippel's work... Dippel's life was a mixture of genius and deceit, in the interest of goals we can only guess at. Lucky for you, a book about the man is available at LemmonGrove.com
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