Baron Gerhard Rudolf Viktor von Hessert (August 18, 1906 – September 22, 1994) was a German bobsledder who competed in the early 1930s.
[2][3] His paternal great-grandfather Dr. Franz Ferdinand von Hessert was royal physician to Ludwig I and a vaccination pioneer.
He conducted in the early 1800s the first cowpox inoculation trials in Hesse after Edward Jenner's vaccination advancements in England.
[4][5] He attended Darmstadt University and moved to New York City in 1929 after making the journey aboard the RMS Franconia.
Gerhard von Hessert and his team finished seventh and last in the four-man event at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.