My great-grandfather discovered an artery of the human body that’s named for him. But nobody knows I exist. Why?
Nobody knew my grandfather or my father existed either.
Albert Adamkiewicz worked at the Rothschild hospital in Vienna which doesn’t exist anymore.
My father and my grandfather tried finding their family’s fortune after WW2 but we’re unable to.
I think it must’ve been looted.
What should I do?
Since the OP is looking for advice, let’s move this to IMHO. Title edited to give a better idea of subject.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Because you haven’t done anything that is noteworthy. I’m not sure why you think that your great-grandfather’s fame, however fleeting, should pass down to you?
See above answer.
Lots of families lost everything during WWII, and there is likely no way to recover any assets from them. The records are longs since lost, the fortune (are you sure there was a fortune?) was broken up and dispersed, the money is gone.
It may be interesting to track your history using ancestory.com or other sites to find lost relatives.
Because “my great-grandfather described the major anterior segmental medullary artery” is possibly the least successful pickup line of all time? Being a distant descendant of someone who named an obscure bit of anatomy isn’t a pathway to fame. But maybe you could hang out with the descendants of Paul Langerhans, Jan Evangelista Purkyne, and…um…Achilles.
Help me read the wiki pronunciation.
Albert Wojciech Adamkiewicz (Polish: [adamkvit]
Is it “Adam-KAY-vitz”?
“He is credited with describing the major anterior segmental medullary artery, which is now known as the Artery of Adamkiewicz”
He should have patented it and then everyone with an Artery of Adamkiewicz could be paying the OP a licensing fee right now.
From your profile;
- I studied Law and at film school. I am not successful. *
I’m going to guess I know why the law thing isn’t working all that well.
Your great-grandfather worked in Vienna. Was the family from Vienna, however, or Poland? How do you know there was money?
I’d head to the Snowdon deli for some motza ball soup and nice lean smoked meat on rye. Why? Because the lines are shorter than at Schwarz’s and the food is just as good.
While you’re having a nosh, think about starting your own business or just enjoy the life you have without obsessing over someone you’ve never met and who owes you nothing.
And if you just can’t let go, see if you can hit up the Austrian Government for reparations. Just like Helen Mirren’s character from “Woman in Gold”.
My grandmother used to like to tell the story about a lawyer who contacted her with the news that, not only was she the direct descendant of William Penn, the terms of his colonial charter were in arrears; and all she need do to lay claim to the entire state of Pennsylvania was to remit to the English crown some 400 beaver pelts (two per year).
I’m wondering why you think there was a family fortune. According to this biography, Dr. Adamkiewicz was a university professor, which has never been a particularly lucrative position. And just ten years after his breakthrough, he made a number of errors in research which damaged his reputation and led him to resign his position. After that, he pretty much devoted his career to clinical practice. Overall, an admirable career but not one that suggests great wealth.
He died in 1921. Did your grandfather have any memory of a family fortune between then and when the Nazis rose to power?
More like “ah dahm KYEH veetsh” according to the IPA in that article.
My 10th great grandfather landed at Plymouth Rock. Shouldn’t I be getting some sort of royalties or official recognition? More recently, my grandfather was a wealthy produce merchant in the PNW. When he died, his partners siphoned off the money, leaving his family with nothing. Why can’t I sue their descendants?
Careful, you might inspire a new kind of late night legal ads…
Especially if he studied law at film school. 
You act as if you are entitled to some sort of notoriety and money? Well, you’re not. I know lots of people whose ancestors did amazing wonderful things. Some of them were able to inherit small amounts of wealth, but many of them are just normal people that live life and find fulfilling work or achievements of their own.
Best of luck.
My ancestors invented stone tools, clothing, the campfire, and language!
Pfft! Mine hit on the idea of leaving the ocean and living on land!
I’m on a message board with a guy whose ancestor landed at Plymouth Rock. I figure a connection like that is worth fifty bucks. Who do I contact to get my money?
Pffft! I have a relative living in Boston. His Ggg? gandmother was ‘friendly’ with one of the crew on the Mayflower