Paul Kern (died 1955) was a Hungarian soldier who was shot in the head by a Russian soldier in 1915 during World War I. The bullet removed part of his frontal lobe. Rather than killing him, this made him unable to sleep.
At the outbreak of World War I, Kern volunteered as a cadet in the Hungarian army. He was placed in command of a company of shock troops. While with this company, he was awarded a medal for bravery. A year later, he was transferred to another company where he was rewarded for his defense of an important sector despite the rest of his company being shot down.
After being shot in the head by a Russian soldier and losing part of his frontal lobe, he was taken to Lemberg Hospital. After waking up at Lemberg, he never slept again.Ernst Frey, professor of mental and nervous diseases at the Eötvös Loránd University, treated Kern but was unable to find a cause for this abnormality.
After having been injured and leaving the army, Kern moved to Budapest. While there, he worked daily in the Pensions Department.
Kern is said to have lived for another 40 years after his injury.
