History of Homeopathy
Origins
Homeopathy was developed in the late 1700s by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Though a qualified doctor, he grew disillusioned with the medical practices of the day and, leaving his career as a doctor behind, turned to chemistry and translating medical texts.
He kept an interest in the workings of medications. While working as a translator, he came across a claim that malaria was treatable using cinchona, the bark of a South American tree. The author of the claim, Scottish doctor William Cullen, claimed the substance worked because of its bitterness. Hahnemann was sceptical, knowing other substances to be more bitter, and without effect on malaria.
He experimented with Cullen’s claim by self-testing, taking cinchona himself. He noticed that the bark produced the symptoms of malaria, which stopped when he ceased taking it. This was a principle described by Hippocrates in the 5th Century BC as “let like cure like”. Today we know that cinchona is a source of quinine, used in the treatment of malaria, and is also used to treat fevers.
Hanhemann set about proving his new theory of treatment, which he called homeopathy (from the Greek, meaning similar suffering). He began to test the effects of various substances in humans, requiring healthy volunteers to keep a diary of symptoms for each substance. He published his first provings in 1805.
His experiments continued, but, as well as curing symptoms, the medicines caused side effects. Hahnemann administered smaller and smaller doses, eventually realising that dilution enabled him to reduce side effects to nothing, while retaining the curative properties of substances.
Hahnemann wrote a doctoral thesis on his new discovery, and began teaching it at the University of Leipzig from 1812 onwards.
Development
Homeopathy began to grow in popularity during the nineteenth century. The first schools and institutions of homeopathy appeared from the 1830s onwards in Europe and the United States. Because it was non-invasive, it was seen as being safer than many conventional medical practices of the time.
Its popularity waned throughout the first half of the twentieth century, perhaps because conventional medicine moved from old practices of blood-letting and purging towards more scientific methods. The recognition given to homeopathic remedies by the US Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (1938) began its revival.
Today, there are over 300 registered homeopaths in Ireland. There are also five NHS-supported homeopathic hospitals in 
the UK, including the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, founded in 1849.
Hundreds of studies worldwide have shown homeopathy to be a safe and effective natural method of healing on many levels.