| Oswald Berkhan | |
| Birth Date: | 19 March 1834 |
| Birth Place: | Blankenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany |
| Death Place: | Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany |
| Nationality: | German |
| Occupation: | Physician |
| Known For: | First person to identify dyslexia |
Oswald Berkhan (19 March 1834 – 15 February 1917) was a German physician.
Born in Blankenburg am Harz, he was one of the initiators of the "Idioten-Anstalt Neuerkerode" (institution for people with mental illnesses), which was thought to be a sanctuary for disabled and ill people. He was also a dedicated reformer of special education schools.
He was the first person to identify dyslexia, in 1881,[1] though the term "dyslexia" was coined several years later (in 1887) by Rudolf Berlin, who was an ophthalmologist in Stuttgart.[2]
Berkhan died in Braunschweig.
In 2016, Oswald Foundation, an accessibility technology company named after Berkhan,[3] [4] was established to build products for individuals suffering from disabilities.[5]