List of microbiologists

Major contributions to the science of microbiology (as a discipline in its modern sense) have spanned the time from the mid-17th century to the present day. The following is a list of prominent microbiologists who have made significant contributions to the study of microorganisms. Many of those listed have received a Nobel prize for their contributions to the field of microbiology. The others are typically considered historical figures whose work in microbiology had a notable impact in the field. Those microbiologists who currently work in the field have been excluded unless they have received recognition beyond that of being on the faculty in a college or university.

Proto-microbiologists (pre-1670s)
  • Marcus Terentius Varro
  • Avicenna
  • Girolamo Fracastoro
  • Marcello Malpighi
  • Athanasius Kircher
  • Jan Swammerdam
  • Robert Hooke

Microbiologists
Birth - Death Microbiologist Nationality Contribution summary
1632–1723 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Dutch Considered to be the first acknowledged microscopist. Van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe microscopic organisms, using simple single-lensed microscopes of his own design.[1]
1729–1799 Lazzaro Spallanzani Italian Proved that bacteria did not arise due to spontaneous generation by developing a sealed, sterile broth medium.[2][3]
1749–1823 Edward Jenner English Developed vaccination techniques against smallpox.[2]
1818–1865 Ignaz Semmelweis Hungarian Demonstrated that doctors washing their hands with chlorine solutoin significantly reduced mortality of women giving birth in the hospital setting.[4]
1853–1938 Hans Christian Gram Danish Developed the Gram stain used to identify and classify bacteria.[2]
1845–1922 Charles Lavaran French 1907 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the causative agents of malaria and trypanosomiasis.[2]
1827–1912 Joseph Lister English Introduced sterilisation techniques to surgery.[2][5]
1822–1895 Louis Pasteur French Seminal discoveries in vaccination, food safety, and microbial fermentatoion. A key proponent of the germ theory of disease.[2]
1850–1934 Fanny Hesse German Developed agar for use in culturing bacteria.[2][6]
1851–1931 Martinus Beijerinck Netherlands Discovered the first virus as well as bacterial nitrogen fixation and sulfate reduction.
1885–1948 Marjory Stephenson British Pioneer of bacterial metabolism.
1871–1957 Kiyoshi Shiga Japanese Discovered a bacterium causing an outbreak of dysentery.[2][7]
1854–1917 Emil Adolf von Behring German 1901 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering diphtheria antitoxin.[8]
1857–1932 Sir Ronald Ross British 1902 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes[9]
1843–1910 Robert Koch German 1905 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work on tuberculosis; identified causative agents of tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax.[10]
1845–1922 Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran French 1907 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for recognizing parasitic protozoa as the causes of malaria and African sleeping sickness.[11]
1857–1940 Julius Wagner-Jauregg Austrian 1927 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the neurosyphilis could be treated by inducing fever with malaria parasites.[12]
1866–1936 Charles Jules Henri Nicolle French 1928 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for determining that typhus is transmitted by body lice.[13]
1895–1964 Gerhard Domagk German 1939 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovering the first commercially available antibiotic: prontosil.[14]
1881–1955 Sir Alexander Fleming Scottish 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering penicillin.[15]
1906–1979 Sir Ernst Boris Chain British
1898–1968 Howard Walter Florey Australian
1899–1972 Max Theiler South African 1951 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing a vaccine against yellow fever.[16]
1888–1973 Selman Abraham Waksman American 1952 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for identifying streptomycin and other antibiotics.[17]

References
  1. Lane, Nick (6 March 2015). "The Unseen World: Reflections on Leeuwenhoek (1677) 'Concerning Little Animal'." Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2015 Apr; 370 (1666): 20140344. [doi:10.1098/rstb.2014.0344]
  2. Pommerville, Jeffery C. (2014). Fundamentals Of Microbiology. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Learning. ISBN 9781449688615.
  3. dictionary of medical eponyms: Whonamedit - dictionary of medical eponyms, accessdate: September 9, 2015
  4. "Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-65)". London, UK: Science Museum, London-Brought To Life, Exploring the History of Medicine. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  5. "Joseph Lister (1827-1912)". London: Science Museum, London-Brought To Life, Exploring the History of Medicine. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  6. Walter and Fanny Hesse: Walter and Fanny Hesse, accessdate: September 9, 2015
  7. A. F. Trofa, H. Ueno-Olsen, R. Oiwa, M. Yoshikawa: Dr. Kiyoshi Shiga: Discoverer of the Dysentery Bacillus. In: Clinical Infectious Diseases. 29, 1999, S. 1303, doi:10.1086/313437.
  8. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1901". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  9. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1902". Nobelprize.org. 2014. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  10. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1905". Nobelprize.org. 2014. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  11. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1907". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  12. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1927". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  13. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1928". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  14. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1939". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  15. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1945". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  16. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1951". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  17. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1952". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
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