Famous 19th Century Microbiologists

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 1 
Louis Pasteur
(French Chemist and Microbiologist Who Discovered the Principles of Vaccination, Microbial Fermentation and Pasteurization)
Louis Pasteur
16
Birthdate: December 27, 1822
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Dole, France
Died: September 28, 1895
Considered one of the founders of bacteriology, Louis Pasteur created vaccines for anthrax and rabies, and invented the process of heating food and wine to kill microbes that cause contamination, which was named pasteurization after him. Known as the “father of microbiology,” he also founded the Pasteur Institute in Paris.  
 2 
Robert Koch
(Physician)
Robert Koch
6
Birthdate: December 11, 1843
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany
Died: May 27, 1910

Robert Koch was a German microbiologist and physician. One of the prominent co-founders of modern bacteriology, Koch is credited with creating and improving laboratory techniques and technologies in the field of microbiology. He is also credited with making important discoveries in public health. In 1905, Robert Koch won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on tuberculosis.

 3 
Martinus Beijerinck
(Microbiologist)
Martinus Beijerinck
5
Birthdate: March 16, 1851
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died: January 1, 1931
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 4 
Waldemar Haffkine
(Bacteriologists)
Waldemar Haffkine
0
Birthdate: March 15, 1860
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Odesa, Ukraine
Died: October 26, 1930
 5 
John Franklin Enders
(American Biomedical Scientist Regarded as 'Father of Modern Vaccines')
John Franklin Enders
2
Birthdate: February 10, 1897
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: West Hartford, Connecticut
Died: September 8, 1985

John Franklin Enders was an American biomedical scientist best remembered for winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1954 along with Thomas Huckle Weller and Frederick Chapman Robbins for discovering that poliomyelitis viruses have the ability to grow in cultures of different types of tissue. John Franklin Enders is often referred to as the Father of Modern Vaccines.

 6 
Sergei Winogradsky
(Russian Microbiologist and Ecologist Who Pioneered the Concept of the Cycle of Life)
Sergei Winogradsky
6
Birthdate: September 1, 1856
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Kiev, Ukraine
Died: February 25, 1953

Russian microbiologist Sergei Winogradsky was the first to suggest the concept of the cycle of life. Born into a family of lawyers, he initially aspired to be a lawyer and also studied music, before switching to chemistry and then botany. His research covered sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and the nitrogen cycle.

 7 
Ferdinand Cohn
(Founder of Bacteriology and Microbiology)
Ferdinand Cohn
2
Birthdate: January 24, 1828
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Wrocław, Poland
Died: June 25, 1898

Ferdinand Cohn was a German biologist who is credited with co-founding microbiology and modern bacteriology. Apart from publishing more than 150 research reports, Cohn also made significant contributions to the field of botany. He was also the first person to classify algae as plants. Ferdinand Cohn received the prestigious Leeuwenhoek Medal in 1885.

 8 
Heinrich Anton de Bary
(German Surgeon, Botanist, Microbiologist, and Mycologist Known for Demonstrating Sexual Life Cycle of Fungi)
Heinrich Anton de Bary
2
Birthdate: January 26, 1831
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Died: January 19, 1888

German surgeon and botanist Heinrich Anton de Bary is regarded as the pioneer of plant pathology and mycology. Apart from teaching botany, he chalked the life cycles of many fungi and also coined the term symbiosis to explain the mutually beneficial co-existence of many orgnanisms, such as fungi and algae.

 9 
Jules Bordet
(Nobel Prize-Winning Belgian Scientist Known for His Discovery of Factors in Blood Serum that Destroy Bacteria)
Jules Bordet
2
Birthdate: June 13, 1870
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Soignies
Died: April 6, 1961

Nobel Prize-winning Belgian immunologist and microbiologist Jules Bordet is remembered for his discovery of blood serum components that are capable of destroying bacteria. He later established the Pasteur Institute of Brussels and taught at the Free University of Brussels. He also discovered the Bordetella pertussis bacteria that causes whooping cough.

 10 
Kiyoshi Shiga
(Japanese Bacteriologist and Physician Who Discovered the Shigella Dysenteriae Microorganism)
Kiyoshi Shiga
1
Birthdate: February 7, 1871
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Died: January 25, 1957

Shiga Kiyoshi was a Japanese bacteriologist and physician. He is credited for many scientific discoveries, including the discovery of the Shigella dysenteriae microorganism. He also conducted research on diseases such as trypanosomiasis and tuberculosis. Kiyoshi Shiga is also credited with making numerous advancements in immunology and bacteriology.

 11 
Friedrich Loeffler
(German Bacteriologist Who Co-Discovered the Bacteria that Causes 'Diphtheria')
Friedrich Loeffler
1
Birthdate: June 24, 1852
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany
Died: April 9, 1915

Born to a German army surgeon, bacteriologist Friedrich Loeffler followed in his father’s footsteps and served as an army doctor for a while before becoming an academic. He later co-discovered the Klebs-Löffler bacillus, the organism that causes diphtheria, and developed a serum to detect it, apart from founding a microbiology-oriented journal.

 12 
Johannes Eugenius Bülow Warming
(Danish botanist)
Johannes Eugenius Bülow Warming
1
Birthdate: November 3, 1841
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Mano, Denmark
Died: April 2, 1924
 13 
Max Schultze
(German Microscopic Anatomist Known for His Discovery of Protoplasm Theory)
Max Schultze
1
Birthdate: March 25, 1825
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Died: January 16, 1874

Max Schultze was a German microscopic anatomist best remembered for his work concerning cell theory. He is credited with coining many botanical names and the author abbreviation M.Schultze is generally used to indicate Max Schultze as the author when citing a named coined by him.

 14 
August von Wassermann
(German Hygienist and Bacteriologist Who Developed a Complement Fixation Test that Allowed for Early Detection of Syphilis)
August von Wassermann
3
Birthdate: February 21, 1866
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Bamberg, Germany
Died: March 16, 1925

August von Wassermann was a German hygienist and bacteriologist. He is best remembered for developing a complement fixation test that allowed for early detection of syphilis in 1906. The test helped prevent the transmission of the disease and played a major role in the diagnosis of syphilis. In 1921, August von Wassermann became the first winner of the Aronson Prize

 15 
Félix d'Hérelle
(Microbiologist)
Félix d'Hérelle
1
Birthdate: April 25, 1873
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Montreal, Canada
Died: February 22, 1949
 16 
Friedrich Karl Kleine
(German Pharmacologist and Microbiologist Who Developed the First Successful Remedy for Sleeping Sickness)
Friedrich Karl Kleine
0
Birthdate: May 14, 1869
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Stralsund, Germany
Died: March 22, 1951

Friedrich Karl Kleine was a German pharmacologist and microbiologist. He is best remembered for developing the first successful remedy for African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness. Friedrich Karl Kleine was the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Bernhard Nocht Medal, which was awarded to him in 1925.