Franz Gerhard Wegeler

Franz Gerhard Wegeler (22 August 1765 – 7 May 1848) was a German physician from Bonn, who, in his youth, was a close friend of composer Ludwig van Beethoven.

After completing his studies in Austria, he returned to Bonn, where he became a tenured professor of legal medicine and obstetrics in 1789.

[2] In 1794, he fled Bonn during the French Revolutionary Wars, returning to Vienna, where he renewed his friendship with Beethoven.

In 1807, Wegeler relocated to Koblenz, where he joined the Prussian civil service and received several prestigious awards.

According to this memoir, Wegeler and Beethoven first met when they were respectively aged 17 and 12, leading Andrew Crumey to suggest they were "brought together under Illuminist auspices – perhaps some educational event or programme to foster local talent.