To Thomas Jefferson from Johann Abraham Albers, 16 November 1803
From Johann Abraham Albers
Bremen th. 16 Novbr 1803.
Sir
By this I have the Honour to send Your Excellency the third Volume of my American Annals, and as a proof of my profound respect, have taken the liberty of dedicating it to You.
At same time allow me to assure You of the sincere esteem, which the German Nation feels for the United States of America, and that the publication of my Annals, whose principal aim is the extension of one part of their Literature, has been received here in the most flattering manner.
I have the Honour to be Sir Your most obedient servant
J. A. Albers Dr.
RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 9 July 1804 and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure: J. A. Albers, Americanische Annalen der Arzneykunde, Naturgeschichte, Chemie und Physik, vol. 3 (Bremen, 1803; No. 4728).
German physician Johann Abraham Albers (1772-1821) studied medicine at Jena, Vienna, London, and Edinburgh before returning to his hometown of Bremen in 1798, where he established a large and successful practice. Although an accomplished researcher in his own right, his primary contribution to medical science came from translating foreign research into German. His most ambitious work in this realm was his Americanische Annalen, a short-lived serial published from 1802 to 1803 that included translations of writings by a number of prominent American physicians and scientists. Albers dedicated the third and final volume to “Seiner Excellenz dem Herrn Thomas Jefferson, Präsidenten der vereinigten Staaten von Amerika” (that is, to “His Excellency the Honorable Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States of America”) with deepest respect (William F. Bynum, “Johann Abraham Albers [1772-1821] and American Medicine,” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 23 [1968], 50-62).