At the
University of Berlin, Graefe studied
philosophy,
logic,
natural sciences and
anatomy, under notable names such as
Dove,
H. Rose,
Müller, and
Schlemm, eventually obtaining his medical doctorate in 1847. He continued his studies at
Prague,
Paris,
Vienna and
London, and having devoted special attention to
ophthalmology, in 1850, he began to practice as an oculist in Berlin. Here, he founded a private institution for the treatment of eyes. During the same year, he received his habilitation with the thesis
Über die Wirkung der Augenmuskeln. In 1858 he became an associate professor of ophthalmology at the
Charité in Berlin, where in 1866 he was appointed a full professor. In 1870, he was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1862 he married Anna Knuth. The couple had three children, two of whom died in infancy. Graefe died in Berlin from
pulmonary tuberculosis on 20 July 1870. His grave is preserved in the
Protestant Friedhof II der Jerusalems- und Neuen Kirchengemeinde (Cemetery No. II of the congregations of
Jerusalem's Church and
New Church) in
Berlin-Kreuzberg, south of
Hallesches Tor. Berlin by
Rudolf Siemering == Contributions ==