Bacteriology

Bacteriology: timeline of key events

This was made by by Antoine van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch textile merchant, while examining water closely. His letter announcing the discovery was greeted with scepticism by the Royal Society. 1675-01-01T00:00:00+0000Sedillot was a French military physician and surgeon who was a major pioneer of endoscopic surgery, anaesthesiology, clinical histopathology and infectiology. In 1846 he performed the first gastronomy in the world. This is a surgical procedure the makes an opening between the stomach and the abdominal wall to enable the absorption of food through a tube. He was also one of the first to make the link between the proximity of the dissection room and the operating theatre in the development of postoperative infectious complications. Sedillot is also credited with coining the term 'microbe' (from the Greek: mikros, 'small', and bios, life') in 1878. 1804-09-18T00:00:00+0000Semmelweis was a physician who in 1847 found that hand-washing with chlorinated lime solutions could dramatically reduce the number of women dying in childbirth from puerperal fever. He developed his method based on his observation that puerperal fever killed as many as 3 out 10 women who gave birth in hospital, but was rare among those who had home births. Believing the disease was possibly transmitted by doctors he insisted that all those who worked under him washed their hands in chemicals between patient examinations. Despite his success in reducing maternal mortality, his method was rejected during his life-time. It only became widespread after the rise of germ theory. 1818-07-01T00:00:00+0000Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist who is best known for inventing a sterilisation method for slowing down the development of microbes in milk and wine, a process now called pasteurisation. He also made significant breakthroughs in understanding the causes and prevention of bacterial diseases. His work was instrumental in helping to reduce the mortality rate from puerperal fever, a major cause of death for women in childbirth in the 19th century. Pasteur also pioneered the first rabies vaccine.1822-12-27T00:00:00+0000Klebs was a physician and bacteriologist who in 1883 discovered the bacillus that causes diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheriae). Renowned for his work on infectious diseases, Klebs' research laid the foundation for modern bacteriology. He was the first to successfully inoculate syphilis in monkeys, in 1878, and to isolate colonies of bacteria. In addition he was the first to show it was possible to cause tuberculosis in animals by injecting milk from infected cows and the first to identify the typhoid bacillus (now called Salmonella typhi). 1834-02-06T00:00:00+0000Koch was a major bacteriologist. He was responsible for the identification of the causative agents of anthrax (1876), tuberculosis (1882) and cholera (1883). This was aided by the photomicrography method he developed. The technique involved preparing thin layers of bacteria on glass slides which were fixed by heat. Koch also invented a method for culturing microorganisms in a drop nutrient solution on the underside of a glass slide. In 1890 he laid out 4 general criteria, known Koch's postulates, for establishing the causative relationship between a microbe and a disease. Koch was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1905 for his groundbreaking work on tuberculosis. 1843-12-11T00:00:00+0000Petri was a microbiologist who is credited with inventing the petri dish, a shallow glass cylinder used to culture cells and bacteria. This he developed in the late 1870s while working as an assistant to Robert Koch. Petri developed the dish to help culture bacteria on agar plates. He subsequently developed the technique of agar culture to clone bacterial colonies derived from single cells. His work helped improve the process of identifying bacteria responsible for disease. 1852-05-31T00:00:00+0000Loeffler was a bacteriologist who is credited with the first isolation of the bacillus (Corynebacterium diphtheriae) that causes diphtheria. This he did in 1884. It was always present in the mucous membranes of the larynx and trachea of patients with diphtheria. Loeffler manged to culture the organism and reproduce it in susceptible animals. Later on he demonstrated that some animals had immunity to the disease, which he believed was linked to a toxin produced by the bacillus. This laid the foundation for the development of antitoxin therapy against diphtheria. 1852-06-24T00:00:00+0000Gram was a bacteriologist who developed a method to quickly identify two different large groups of bacteria. His method is now routinely used for histology and microbiology. Bacteria that absorb the stain which turn purple are known as Gram positive bacteria, and those that do not absorb the stain, which might be coloured pink with a counterstain, are labelled Gram negative. 1853-09-13T00:00:00+0000Émile Roux was a physician, bacteriologist and immunologist who made his name working on diphtheria, a once fatal disease. In 1883 he helped to show that the disease was caused by a toxin secreted by the diphtheria bacillus. Based on this discovery and subsequent work by others that animals produce antibodies against the diphtheria toxin, Roux managed to develop a serum therapy to combat the disease. The treatment was proven effective in a trial conducted at the Hopital des Enfants-Malades with 300 diseased children.1853-11-17T00:00:00+0000Ehrlich played a significant role in the development of the first serum therapy to combat diphtheria in the 1890s and devised methods for standardising therapeutic serums. In addition he invented staining techniques for distinguishing different types of blood cells which laid the foundation for diagnosing blood disorders. In 1900 he popularised the 'magic bullet' concept which promoted the idea of developing a drug capable of killing specific disease-causing microbes, like bacteria, without harming the body itself. Nine years later he succeeded in creating Salvasan, the first drug created to target a specific pathogen and the first effective medical treatment for syphilis. Ehrlich also coined the term 'antibody' and transformed understandings of how the immune system worked. In 1908 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine on the back of this work. Despite his groundbreaking research, Ehrlich struggled to get a permanent position because of his Jewish background. 1854-03-14T00:00:00+0000Neisser was a Polish-German physician who specicalised in dermatology and venereal diseases. In 1878 he demonstrated that the causative agent of gonorrhoea was a small bacterium which was named in his honour (Neisseria gonorrhoeae). He made the discovery while he was still a student assistant. An active public health campaigner, Neisser pioneered the rational treatment of gonorrhoea, which involved the constant checking-up of the effect of treatment by microscopical examination. Neisser was also the first to propose the use of potargol to treat gonorrhoea and campaigned against the indiscriminate use of astringents in the treatment of the disease.1855-01-22T00:00:00+0000Together with Daniel E Salmon, Smith provided the first proof that killed bacteria could be used to induce immunity in experimental animals, in 1886. This laid the foundation for the subsequent development of protective immunisation in humans against bacterial diseases like typhoid and cholera. Smith also pioneered the use of the fermentation tube to study bacterial physiology and classification. Using this technique he managed to identify the causes of several infectious parasitic diseases, including Texas Cattle Fever caused by ticks. His delineation of the tick's life-cycle paved the way to controlling the disease by dipping cattle to kill the ticks. Smith's revelation that insects could transmit disease was a major breakthrough and laid the foundation for the investigation of yellow fever and malaria. Smith established the first department of bacteriology at a medical school in the United States - at Columbian University (now George Washington University). 1859-07-31T00:00:00+0000Biggs was a physician and pathologist who was a major leader in preventative medicine. He helped apply the science of bacteriology to the prevention and control of infectious diseases. For 22 years he maintained leadership roles in the New York City Health Department. In this position he introduced the use of diphtheria antitoxin to the United States and was active in the prevention and amelioration of tuberculosis.1859-09-29T00:00:00+00001861-01-01T00:00:00+0000Wright was a bacteriologist and immunologist who pioneered the development of a vaccine against typhoid in the 1890s. Initially the British military authorities were reluctant to roll out the vaccine, but limited trials during the Boer War proved its value. Further trials conducted among 3,000 soldiers in India confirmed its efficacy and the War Office used it to vaccinate British troops at the outset of World War I. Wright also developed vaccines against enteric tuberculosis and pneumonia. He also instrumental in research to understand how blood enzymes make bacteria more susceptible to phagocytosis by white blood cells. 1861-08-10T00:00:00+0000Nicolaier was a German physician who is renowned for having discovered the cause of tetanus - toxins produced by the pathogen Clostridium tetani, a ubiquitous organism that lives in the soil and the gut flora of animals. This paved the way to his development of an antitoxin to induce passive immunity against tentatus - the first measure that became available to prevent the disease. Nicolaier carried out this work in 1884 when he was just 22 years old and still a medical student. He later went on to help develop Urotropin, a urinary tract disinfectant, and Atrophan, an anti-inflammatory drug. Nicolaier was forced to give up his position as associate professor at the University Department of Medicine in Berlin in 1933 because of his Jewish background. In 1942 he took an overdose of morphine so as not to be transported to Theresienstadt concentration camp.1862-02-04T00:00:00+0000Yersin was a physician and bacteriologist who helped to discover the pathogen responsible for the bubonic plague in 1894. The plague bacillus was later named in his honour as Yersinia pestis. Following his discovery, Yersin managed to develop an anti-plague serum using pus excised from a plague victim which he successfully used to treat a Chinese student suffering from plague in 1896. Prior to his work on the plague bacillus, Yersin helped to discover the diphtheria toxin. 1863-09-22T00:00:00+0000Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician of ethnic-German ancestry who in 1847 found that hand-washing with chlorinated lime solutions could dramatically reduce the number of women dying in childbirth from puerperal fever. He developed his method based on his observation that puerperal fever killed as many as 3 out 10 women who gave birth in hospital, but was rare among those who had home births. Believing the disease was possibly transmitted by doctors he insisted that all those who worked under him washed their hands in chemicals between patient examinations. Despite his success in reducing maternal mortality, his method was rejected during his life-time. It only became widespread after the rise of germ theory. 1865-08-13T00:00:00+0000Agramonte was a physician, pathologist and bacteriologist who discovered the role of the mosquito in the transmission of yellow fever in 1901. He made the discovery while working as a professor of bacteriology and experimental pathology at the University of Havana and assistant surgeon with the US Army. An influential leader of scientific medicine in Cuba, Agramonte originally trained in medicine at Columbia University. In addition to his research on yellow fever, Agramonte studied the transmission of plague, dengue, trachoma, malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever and other infectious diseases.1868-06-03T00:00:00+0000Schaudinn was a zoologist and microbiologist who helped to discover the bacterial cause of syphilis, in 1905. He also identified the unicellular parasite Entamoeba histolytica, the amoeba that causes dysentery and confirmed hook worm infections are contracted through skin on the feet. This he established through experiments with monkeys. Schuadinn also made important discoveries relating to sleeping sickness and malaria. He died at the age of 34 after a surgical operation to remove a gastrointestinal abscess, probably caused by an amoebian infection he voluntarily acquired while researching amoebas.1871-09-19T00:00:00+0000d'Herelle was a microbiologist who co-discovered bacteriophages (phages), viruses that infect bacteria that are now major tools in biotechnology. He isolated the first phage from chicken faeces in 1919. Following this, he successfully treated chickens infected with typhus with the phage and in August 1919 cured a patient with dysentery using the same method. This laid the basis for the development of phage therapy. 1873-04-25T00:00:00+0000Noguchi is best remembered for his identification, in 1913, of the causative agent of syphilis (the bacteria Treponema pallidum), and identification of the pathogen responsible for Carrion's disease (a Leishmania parasite). Unable to get a medical position in Japan because of his hand deformity which potential employers feared would put off potential patients, Noguchi spent his life doing laboratory work in the United States. While valued in his lifetime, his reputation took a battering after his death because researchers struggled to reproduce some of his claims, including having discovered the cause of yellow fever, polio and rabies.1876-11-24T00:00:00+0000The technique was developed by Robert Koch. His method involved preparing thin layers of bacteria on glass slides and fixing them by gentle heat. 1877-01-01T00:00:00+0000A physician and bacteriologist, Zinsser isolated the bacterium that causes typhus and developed a protective vaccine against it. In 1935 he published the book 'Rats, Live and History' in which he recounted the effects of typhus on mankind and the efforts to eradicate it. In the book he argued that disease was responsible for more deaths than war. 1878-11-17T00:00:00+0000Louis Pasteur develops an attenuated chicken cholera vaccine1879-01-01T00:00:00+0000Fleming was a biologist and microbiologist. He first made his mark through his discovery of lysosyme in 1923. This is an enzyme produced in the tears, saliva, mucus and human milk which is an important part of the immune system. Today he is best known for having found penicillin, a mould subsequently developed as the first antibiotic drug to treat bacterial diseases. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1945 for this discovery.1881-08-06T00:00:00+0000Sedillot was a French military physician and surgeon who was a major pioneer of endoscopic surgery, anaesthesiology, clinical histopathology and infectiology. In 1846 he performed the first gastronomy in the world. This is a surgical procedure the makes an opening between the stomach and the abdominal wall to enable the absorption of food through a tube. He was also one of the first to make the link between the proximity of the dissection room and the operating theatre in the development of postoperative infectious complications. Sedillot is also credited with coining the term 'microbe' (from the Greek: mikros, 'small', and bios, life') in 1878.1883-01-19T00:00:00+0000A physician and bacteriologist, in 1935 Colebrook demonstrated that Prontosil, one of the first antibacterial drugs, was an effective treatment for puerperal sepsis caused by streptococcal bacteria, an infection that killed many women in childbirth. His work dramatically reduced the number of women dying in childbirth and marked a major turning point in antimicrobial chemotherapy and the rise of sulphomides. He also made breakthroughs in burn care by using antisepsis treatment for burn wound infections and pushing for the establishment of burn units in hospitals.1883-03-02T00:00:00+0000Louis Pasteur successfully tested his rabies vaccine on a nine year old boy who had been bitten by a rabid dog.1885-07-06T00:00:00+0000Rivers was a bacteriologist and virologist whose development of a tissue culture for the vaccinia virus, in 1931, paved the way to the development of a vaccine against yellow-fever. He also made important contributions to understanding the viral causes of influenza and chickenpox. Rivers served as the director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1937-56) and chaired the virus research committee of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) (1938-1955) which oversaw the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines against polio. 1888-09-03T00:00:00+0000Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist who is best known for inventing a sterilisation method for slowing down the development of microbes in milk and wine, a process now called pasteurisation. He also made significant breakthroughs in understanding the causes and prevention of bacterial diseases. His work was instrumental in helping to reduce the mortality rate from puerperal fever, a major cause of death for women in childbirth in the 19th century. Pasteur also pioneered the first rabies vaccine.1895-09-28T00:00:00+0000Domagk was a German pathologist, physician and bacteriologist. He is best known for having found sulphonamide to be an effective drug against bacterial infections. The molecule had originally been synthesised by chemists at the German company Bayer in 1908. Domagk discovered the antibacterial properties of the drug through preliminary tests in mice in 1931. Soon after this he successfully treated his own daughter struck down by a severe streptococcal infection. His work paved the way to the widespread adoption of sulphonamide drugs, the first commercially available antibiotics, in the late 1930s to treat infections caused by streptococci, including blood infections, childbirth fever, and erysipelas. Domagk was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1939 but the Nazi regime forced him to refuse it, with the Gestapo putting him under arrest for a week. He finally received the Nobel Prize in 1947. 1895-10-30T00:00:00+0000Wyckoff was a major pioneer of x-ray crystallography of bacteria. He helped develop a high-speed centrifuge for segregating microscopic and submicroscopic material to determine the sizes and molecular weights of small particles. In addition he purified the virus that causes equine encephalomyelitis which laid the foundation for the development of a vaccine to combat an epidemic of the disease in horses. His work in this field enabled him to create a vaccine against epidemic typhus for use in World War II. 1897-08-09T00:00:00+0000Schaudinn was a German zoologist and microbiologist who helped to discover the bacterial cause of syphilis, in 1905. He also identified the unicellular parasite Entamoeba histolytica, the amoeba that causes dysentery and confirmed hook worm infections are contracted through skin on the feet. This he established through experiments with monkeys. Schuadinn also made important discoveries relating to sleeping sickness and malaria. He died at the age of 34 after a surgical operation to remove a gastrointestinal abscess, probably caused by an amoebian infection he voluntarily acquired while researching amoebas.1906-06-22T00:00:00+0000Koch was a major German bacteriologist. He was responsible for the identification of the causative agents of anthrax (1876), tuberculosis (1882) and cholera (1883). This was aided by the photomicrography method he developed. The technique involved preparing thin layers of bacteria on glass slides which were fixed by heat. Koch also invented a method for culturing microorganisms in a drop nutrient solution on the underside of a glass slide. In 1890 he laid out 4 general criteria, known Koch's postulates, for establishing the causative relationship between a microbe and a disease. Koch was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1905 for his groundbreaking work on tuberculosis. 1910-05-27T00:00:00+0000Klebs was a German-Swiss physician and bacteriologist who in 1883 discovered the bacillus that causes diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheriae). Renowned for his work on infectious diseases, Klebs' research laid the foundation for modern bacteriology. He was the first to successfully inoculate syphilis in monkeys, in 1878, and to isolate colonies of bacteria. In addition he was the first to show it was possible to cause tuberculosis in animals by injecting milk from infected cows and the first to identify the typhoid bacillus (now called Salmonella typhi).1913-10-23T00:00:00+0000Loeffler was a bacteriologist who is credited with the first isolation of the bacillus (Corynebacterium diphtheriae) that causes diphtheria. This he did in 1884. It was always present in the mucous membranes of the larynx and trachea of patients with diphtheria. Loeffler manged to culture the organism and reproduce it in susceptible animals. Later on he demonstrated that some animals had immunity to the disease, which he believed was linked to a toxin produced by the bacillus. This laid the foundation for the development of antitoxin therapy against diphtheria.1915-04-15T00:00:00+0000Ehrlich played a significant role in the development of the first serum therapy to combat diphtheria in the 1890s and devised methods for standardising therapeutic serums. In addition he invented staining techniques for distinguishing different types of blood cells which laid the foundation for diagnosing blood disorders. In 1900 he popularised the 'magic bullet' concept which promoted the idea of developing a drug capable of killing specific disease-causing microbes, like bacteria, without harming the body itself. Nine years later he succeeded in creating Salvasan, the first drug created to target a specific pathogen and the first effective medical treatment for syphilis. Ehrlich also coined the term 'antibody' and transformed understandings of how the immune system worked. In 1908 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine on the back of this work. Despite his groundbreaking research, Ehrlich struggled to get a permanent position because of his Jewish background.1915-08-20T00:00:00+0000Neisser was a German physician who specicalised in dermatology and venereal diseases. In 1878 he demonstrated that the causative agent of gonorrhoea was a small bacterium which was named in his honour (Neisseria gonorrhoeae). He made the discovery while he was still a student assistant. An active public health campaigner, Neisser pioneered the rational treatment of gonorrhoea, which involved the constant checking-up of the effect of treatment by microscopical examination. Neisser was also the first to propose the use of potargol to treat gonorrhoea and campaigned against the indiscriminate use of astringents in the treatment of the disease. 1916-07-30T00:00:00+0000Petri was a microbiologist who is credited with inventing the petri dish, a shallow glass cylinder used to culture cells and bacteria. This he developed in the late 1870s while working as an assistant to Robert Koch. Petri developed the dish to help culture bacteria on agar plates. He subsequently developed the technique of agar culture to clone bacterial colonies derived from single cells. His work helped improve the process of identifying bacteria responsible for disease.1921-12-20T00:00:00+0000Biggs was an American physician and pathologist who was a major leader in preventative medicine. He helped apply the science of bacteriology to the prevention and control of infectious diseases. For 22 years he maintained leadership roles in the New York City Health Department. In this position he introduced the use of diphtheria antitoxin to the United States and was active in the prevention and amelioration of tuberculosis. 1923-06-23T00:00:00+0000Noguchi was a Japanese bacteriologist. He is best remembered for his identification, in 1913, of the causative agent of syphilis (the bacteria Treponema pallidum), and identification of the pathogen responsible for Carrion's disease (a Leishmania parasite). Unable to get a medical position in Japan because of his hand deformity which potential employers feared would put off potential patients, Noguchi spent his life doing laboratory work in the United States. While valued in his lifetime, his reputation took a battering after his death because researchers struggled to reproduce some of his claims, including having discovered the cause of yellow fever, polio and rabies. 1928-05-21T00:00:00+0000Agramonte was a Cuban physician, pathologist and bacteriologist who discovered the role of the mosquito in the transmission of yellow fever in 1901. He made the discovery while working as a professor of bacteriology and experimental pathology at the University of Havana and assistant surgeon with the US Army. An influential leader of scientific medicine in Cuba, Agramonte originally trained in medicine at Columbia University. In addition to his research on yellow fever, Agramonte studied the transmission of plague, dengue, trachoma, malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever and other infectious diseases. 1931-08-19T00:00:00+0000Émile Roux was a French physician, bacteriologist and immunologist who made his name working on diphtheria, a once fatal disease. In 1883 he helped to show that the disease was caused by a toxin secreted by the diphtheria bacillus. Based on this discovery and subsequent work by others that animals produce antibodies against the diphtheria toxin, Roux managed to develop a serum therapy to combat the disease. The treatment was proven effective in a trial conducted at the Hopital des Enfants-Malades with 300 diseased children.1933-11-03T00:00:00+0000Together with Daniel E Salmon, Smith provided the first proof that killed bacteria could be used to induce immunity in experimental animals, in 1886. This laid the foundation for the subsequent development of protective immunisation in humans against bacterial diseases like typhoid and cholera. Smith also pioneered the use of the fermentation tube to study bacterial physiology and classification. Using this technique he managed to identify the causes of several infectious parasitic diseases, including Texas Cattle Fever caused by ticks. His delineation of the life-cycle of the tick paved the way to control of the disease by dipping cattle to kill the ticks. Smith's revelation that insects could transmit disease was a major breakthrough and laid the foundation for the investigation of yellow fever and malaria. Smith established the first department of bacteriology at a medical school in the United States - at Columbian University (now George Washington University).1934-12-10T00:00:00+0000An American physician and bacteriologist, Zinsser isolated the bacterium that causes typhus and developed a protective vaccine against it. In 1935 he published the book 'Rats, Live and History' in which he recounted the effects of typhus on mankind and the efforts to eradicate it. In the book he argued that disease was responsible for more deaths than war.1940-09-04T00:00:00+0000Nicolaier was a German physician who is renowned for having discovered the cause of tetanus - toxins produced by the pathogen Clostridium tetani, a ubiquitous organism that lives in the soil and the gut flora of animals. This paved the way to his development of an antitoxin to induce passive immunity against tentatus - the first measure that became available to prevent the disease. Nicolaier carried out this work in 1884 when he was just 22 years old and still a medical student. He later went on to help develop Urotropin, a urinary tract disinfectant, and Atrophan, an anti-inflammatory drug. Nicolaier was forced to give up his position as associate professor at the University Department of Medicine in Berlin in 1933 because of his Jewish background. In 1942 he took an overdose of morphine so as not to be transported to Theresienstadt concentration camp.1942-08-28T00:00:00+0000Yersin was a Swiss and naturalised French physician and bacteriologist who helped to discover the pathogen responsible for the bubonic plague in 1894. The plague bacillus was later named in his honour as Yersinia pestis. Following his discovery, Yersin managed to develop an anti-plague serum using pus excised from a plague victim which he successfully used to treat a Chinese student suffering from plague in 1896. Prior to his work on the plague bacillus, Yersin helped to discover the diphtheria toxin.1943-03-01T00:00:00+0000Wright was a British bacteriologist and immunologist who pioneered the development of a vaccine against typhoid in the 1890s. Initially the British military authorities were reluctant to roll out the vaccine, but limited trials during the Boer War proved its value. Further trials conducted among 3,000 soldiers in India confirmed its efficacy and the War Office used it to vaccinate British troops at the outset of World War I. Wright also developed vaccines against enteric tuberculosis and pneumonia. He also instrumental in research to understand how blood enzymes make bacteria more susceptible to phagocytosis by white blood cells.1947-04-30T00:00:00+0000d'Herelle was a French Canadian microbiologist who co-discovered bacteriophages (phages), viruses that infect bacteria that are now major tools in biotechnology. He isolated the first phage from chicken faeces in 1919. Following this he successfully treated chickens infected with typhus with the phage and in August 1919 cured a patient with dysentery using the same method. This laid the basis for the development of phage therapy. 1949-02-22T00:00:00+0000Marshall shared the 2005 Nobel Prize for Medicine for helping to work out that peptic ulcers and gastritis are caused by the Helicobacter pylori, a type of bacteria. This finding, published in 1983, ended decades of medical teaching that bacteria could not live in the stomach's acidic environment and that peptic ulcers were caused by stress, spicy foods and too much acid. To demonstrate the link Marshall drank a broth containing Helicobacter pylori, which five days later began to give him symptoms. Thanks to this work peptic ulcer disease can now be treated with a short course of antibiotics and acid secretion inhibitors. 1951-09-30T00:00:00+0000Fleming was a Scottish biologist and microbiologist. He first made his mark through his discovery of lysosyme in 1923. This is an enzyme produced in the tears, saliva, mucus and human milk which is an important part of the immune system. Today he is best known for having found penicillin, a mould subsequently developed as the first antibiotic drug to treat bacterial diseases. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1945 for this discovery.1955-03-11T00:00:00+0000Rivers was a bacteriologist and virologist whose development of a tissue culture for the vaccinia virus, in 1931, paved the way to the development of a vaccine against yellow-fever. He also made important contributions to understanding the viral causes of influenza and chickenpox. Rivers served as the director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1937-56) and chaired the virus research committee of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) (1938-1955) which oversaw the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines against polio.1962-05-12T00:00:00+0000Domagk was a German pathologist, physician and bacteriologist. He is best known for having found sulphonamide to be an effective drug against bacterial infections. The molecule had originally been synthesised by chemists at the German company Bayer in 1908. Domagk discovered the antibacterial properties of the drug through preliminary tests in mice in 1931. Soon after this he successfully treated his own daughter struck down by a severe streptococcal infection. His work paved the way to the widespread adoption of sulphonamide drugs, the first commercially available antibiotics, in the late 1930s to treat infections caused by streptococci, including blood infections, childbirth fever, and erysipelas. Domagk was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1939 but the Nazi regime forced him to refuse it, with the Gestapo putting him under arrest for a week. He finally received the Nobel Prize in 1947. 1964-04-24T00:00:00+0000Colebrook was a British physician and bacteriologist who is in 1935 demonstrated that Prontosil, one of the first antibacterial drugs, was an effective treatment for puerperal sepsis caused by streptococcal bacteria, an infection that killed many women in childbirth. His work in the area dramatically reduced the number of women dying in childbirth and marked a major turning point in antimicrobial chemotherapy. He also made breakthroughs in burn care by using antisepsis treatment for burn wound infections and pushing for the establishment of burn units in hospitals.1967-09-27T00:00:00+0000Wyckoff was a major pioneer of x-ray crystallography of bacteria. He helped develop a high-speed centrifuge for segregating microscopic and submicroscopic material to determine the sizes and molecular weights of small particles. In addition he purified the virus that causes equine encephalomyelitis which laid the foundation for the development of a vaccine to combat an epidemic of the disease in horses. His work in this field enabled him to create a vaccine against epidemic typhus for use in World War II.1994-11-03T00:00:00+0000
Date Event People Places
1675First microscopic observations of protozoa and bacteria Leeuwenhoek 
18 Sep 1804Charles Sedillot was born in Paris, FranceSedillot 
1 Jul 1818Ignaz P Semmelweis was born in Budapest, Hungary SemmelweisVienna General Hospital
27 Dec 1822Louis Pasteur was bornPasteurPasteur Institute
6 Feb 1834Edwin Klebs was born in Konigsberg, Prussia (now Germany)KlebsUniversity of Bern
11 Dec 1843Robert Koch was born in Clausthal (now Clausthal-Zellerfeld), GermanyKochUniversity of Berlin
31 May 1852Richard Julius Petri was bornPetriImperial Health Office
24 Jun 1852Friedrich A J Loeffler was born in Frankfurt, GermanyLoefflerFriedrich Wilhelm Institute, University of Greifswald
13 Sep 1853Hans C J Gram was born in Copenhagen, DenmarkGramUniversity of Copenhagen
17 Nov 1853Pierre Paul Émile Roux was born in Confolens, FranceEmile RouxPasteur Institute
14 Mar 1854Paul Ehrlich was born in Strehlen (now Strzelin), Prussia (now Poland)EhrlichStrehlen, Prussia
22 Jan 1855Albert L S Neisser born in Schweidnitz, Prussia (now Poland)NeisserUniversity of Breslau
31 Jul 1859Theobald Smith was born in Albany, New York, USASmithBureau of Animal Industry, George Washington University
29 Sep 1859Hermann M Biggs was born in Trumansburg, NY, USA BiggsNew York City Health Department.
1861First experiments conducted by Louis Pasteur demonstrate that disease caused by microorganisms in the environment rather than in the airPasteur 
10 Aug 1861Almroth E Wright was born in Middleton Tyas, Yorkshire, UKWrightSt Mary's Hospital
4 Feb 1862Arthur Nicolaier was born in Cossel, Germany (now Poland)NicolaierGottingen University, University of Berlin
22 Sep 1863Alexandre Yersin born in Aubonne, Vaud, SwitzerlandYersin 
13 Aug 1865Ignaz P Semmelweis diedSemmelweisVienna General Hospital
3 Jun 1868Aristides Agramonte y Simoni was born in Camaguey, CubaAgramonteUniversity of Havana
19 Sep 1871Fritz R Schaudinn was bornSchaudinnCharite – Universitatsmedizin Berlin
25 Apr 1873Felix d'Herelle was born in Montreal, Canadad'HerellePasteur Institute
24 Nov 1876Hideyo Noguchi was bornNoguchiRockefeller Institute
1877Technique developed for staining and identifying bacteriaKoch 
17 Nov 1878Hans Zinsser was born in New York City, USAZinsserColumbia University, Stanford University, Harvard University
1879Chicken cholera vaccine developedPasteurPasteur Institute
6 Aug 1881Alexander Fleming was bornFlemingLondon University
19 Jan 1883Charles Sedillot diedSedillot 
2 Mar 1883Leonard Colebrook was born in Guildford, United KingdomLeonard ColebrookSt Mary's Hospital, Charlotte's Hospital
1885First rabies vaccine testedPasteurPasteur Institute
3 Sep 1888Thomas M Rivers was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, USARiversRockefeller Institute
28 Sep 1895Louis Pasteur diedPasteurPasteur Institute
30 Oct 1895Gerhard Domagk was born in Lagow, GermanyDomagkMunster University
9 Aug 1897Ralph W G Wyckoff was born in Geneva, NY, USAWyckoffRockefeller University, University of Michigan, University of Arizona
22 Jun 1906Fritz R Schaudinn diedSchaudinnCharite – Universitatsmedizin Berlin
27 May 1910Robert Koch diedKochUniversity of Berlin
23 Oct 1913Edwin Klebs diedKlebs 
15 Apr 1915Friedrich A J Loeffler diedLoefflerFriedrich Wilhelm Institute, University of Greifswald
20 Aug 1915Paul Ehrlich diedEhrlichGoettingen University
30 Jul 1916Albert L S Neisser diedNeisserUniversity of Breslau
20 Dec 1921Richard Julius Petri diedPetriImperial Health Office
23 Jun 1923Hermann M Biggs diedBiggsNew York City Health Department.
21 May 1928Hideyo Noguchi diedNoguchiRockefeller Institute
19 Aug 1931Aristides Agramonte y Simoni diedAgramonteUniversity of Havana
3 Nov 1933Pierre Paul Émile Roux diedEmile RouxPasteur Institute
10 Dec 1934Theobald Smith diedSmithBureau of Animal Industry, George Washington University
4 Sep 1940Hans Zinsser diedZinsserColumbia University, Stanford University, Harvard University
28 Aug 1942Arthur Nicolaier diedNicolaierGottingen University, University of Berlin
1 Mar 1943Alexandre Yersin diedYersin 
30 Apr 1947Almroth E Wright diedWrightSt Mary's Hospital
22 Feb 1949Felix d'Herelle diedd'HerellePasteur Institute
30 Sep 1951Barry J Marshall was born in Kalgoorlie, AustraliaMarshallUniversity of Western Australia
11 Mar 1955Alexander Fleming diedFlemingLondon University
12 May 1962Thomas M Rivers diedRiversRockefeller Institute
24 Apr 1964Gerhard Domagk diedDomagkMunster University
27 Sep 1967Leonard Colebrook diedLeonard ColebrookSt Mary's Hospital, Charlotte's Hospital
3 Nov 1994Ralph W G Wyckoff diedWyckoffUniversity of Michigan, University of Arizona

1675

First microscopic observations of protozoa and bacteria

18 Sep 1804

Charles Sedillot was born in Paris, France

1 Jul 1818

Ignaz P Semmelweis was born in Budapest, Hungary

27 Dec 1822

Louis Pasteur was born

6 Feb 1834

Edwin Klebs was born in Konigsberg, Prussia (now Germany)

11 Dec 1843

Robert Koch was born in Clausthal (now Clausthal-Zellerfeld), Germany

31 May 1852

Richard Julius Petri was born

24 Jun 1852

Friedrich A J Loeffler was born in Frankfurt, Germany

13 Sep 1853

Hans C J Gram was born in Copenhagen, Denmark

17 Nov 1853

Pierre Paul Émile Roux was born in Confolens, France

14 Mar 1854

Paul Ehrlich was born in Strehlen (now Strzelin), Prussia (now Poland)

22 Jan 1855

Albert L S Neisser born in Schweidnitz, Prussia (now Poland)

31 Jul 1859

Theobald Smith was born in Albany, New York, USA

29 Sep 1859

Hermann M Biggs was born in Trumansburg, NY, USA

1861

First experiments conducted by Louis Pasteur demonstrate that disease caused by microorganisms in the environment rather than in the air

10 Aug 1861

Almroth E Wright was born in Middleton Tyas, Yorkshire, UK

4 Feb 1862

Arthur Nicolaier was born in Cossel, Germany (now Poland)

22 Sep 1863

Alexandre Yersin born in Aubonne, Vaud, Switzerland

13 Aug 1865

Ignaz P Semmelweis died

3 Jun 1868

Aristides Agramonte y Simoni was born in Camaguey, Cuba

19 Sep 1871

Fritz R Schaudinn was born

25 Apr 1873

Felix d'Herelle was born in Montreal, Canada

24 Nov 1876

Hideyo Noguchi was born

1877

Technique developed for staining and identifying bacteria

17 Nov 1878

Hans Zinsser was born in New York City, USA

1879

Chicken cholera vaccine developed

6 Aug 1881

Alexander Fleming was born

19 Jan 1883

Charles Sedillot died

2 Mar 1883

Leonard Colebrook was born in Guildford, United Kingdom

1885

First rabies vaccine tested

3 Sep 1888

Thomas M Rivers was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, USA

28 Sep 1895

Louis Pasteur died

30 Oct 1895

Gerhard Domagk was born in Lagow, Germany

9 Aug 1897

Ralph W G Wyckoff was born in Geneva, NY, USA

22 Jun 1906

Fritz R Schaudinn died

27 May 1910

Robert Koch died

23 Oct 1913

Edwin Klebs died

15 Apr 1915

Friedrich A J Loeffler died

20 Aug 1915

Paul Ehrlich died

30 Jul 1916

Albert L S Neisser died

20 Dec 1921

Richard Julius Petri died

23 Jun 1923

Hermann M Biggs died

21 May 1928

Hideyo Noguchi died

19 Aug 1931

Aristides Agramonte y Simoni died

3 Nov 1933

Pierre Paul Émile Roux died

10 Dec 1934

Theobald Smith died

4 Sep 1940

Hans Zinsser died

28 Aug 1942

Arthur Nicolaier died

1 Mar 1943

Alexandre Yersin died

30 Apr 1947

Almroth E Wright died

22 Feb 1949

Felix d'Herelle died

30 Sep 1951

Barry J Marshall was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia

11 Mar 1955

Alexander Fleming died

12 May 1962

Thomas M Rivers died

24 Apr 1964

Gerhard Domagk died

27 Sep 1967

Leonard Colebrook died

3 Nov 1994

Ralph W G Wyckoff died

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