Ludwig Grass

Josef Johann Ludwig (24 August 1789 – 29 November 1860), more commonly known as Ludwig Grass, was a Liechtensteiner medical doctor and politician.

Early life Grass was born on 24 August 1789 in Vaduz as the son of doctor Christoph Grass and his mother Maria Josepha Zech as one of two children. He attended high school in Feldkirch and from 1807 to 1813 he studied medicine in the University of Vienna and Landshut, where he received a doctorate in 1813. In 1811, he became member of Corps Bavaria in Munich.

Medical career and patronage In Vienna, Grass met Peter Kaiser, with whom he remained friends with his whole life. In December 1813, he started working as a physician in Vaduz. Besides Gebhard Schädler, he was the only academically trained doctor in Liechtenstein at the time and he often treated many of his sick patients free of charge. From 1820 to 1829, he was a member of the Graubünden Medical Association. in order to fund the building of a state high school in Vaduz, which was opened in 1858.

Political career When his childhood friend Michael Menzinger became a state administrator in 1833, Grass became politically active in Liechtenstein. He supported the liberal ideas against the absolute monarchy of Aloys II and the movement by Peter Kaiser, which led to the 1848 Liechtenstein revolution. On 22 March 1848, the people's committee appointed a three-person committee to lead the Liechtenstein revolutionary movement, which included Kaiser, Grass, and Karl Schädler. Together, they managed to prevent the revolution from escalating and resorting to violence.