Robert Koch (1843–1910)
Born 1843 CE, died 1910 CE.
Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( KOKH; German: [ˈʁoːbɛʁt kɔx] ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. He won the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his investigations and discoveries in relation to tuberculosis". As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax, he is regarded as one of the main founders of modern bacteriology. As such, he is popularly nicknamed the father of microbiology (with Louis Pasteur), and as the father of medical bacteriology. His discovery of the anthrax bacterium (Bacillus anthracis) in 1876 is considered the birth of modern bacteriology. Koch used his discoveries to establish that germs "could cause a specific disease" and directly provided proofs for the germ theory of diseases, therefore creating the scientific basis of public health, saving millions of lives. For his life's work, Koch is seen as one of the founders of modern medicine. While working as a private physician, Koch developed many innovative techniques in microbiology. He was the first to use the oil immersion lens, condenser, and microphotography in microscopy.
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