Robert Koch (1843-1910)
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[From Erastus: Varia Opuscula Medica. Francofurdi, 1590.] ANNALS OF MEDICAL HISTORY New Ser ie s , Volu me VII Mar ch , 1935 Numb er 2 ROBERT KOCH (1843-1910) AN AMERICAN TRIBUTE Par t I By LAWRASON BROWN, M.D. SARANAC LAKE, N. Y. IT seems fitting in In 1876 at the head of the Botanical our busy lives to Institute in Breslau was Ferdinand pause this year *Cohn, the greatest figure in bacteri- (1932) to do hom- ology before Koch, who had worked age to the memory out the first morphological classifica- of one of the im- tion of bacteria, putting bacteria in mortals of this the vegetable kingdom, and had found earth, Robert spores in Bacillus subtilus, for up to Koch, discoverer this time bacteria were still con- of the use of solid sidered a part of Botany. The work of media in bacteriology, discoverer of Schroeder on pigment bacteria, done the method of obtaining pure cultures under Cohn, is still a classic. of bacteria, discoverer of the methods On April 22, 1876, Cohn received a of sterilization against bacteria (thus letter from Wollstein in Posen. “Es- making modern [aseptic] surgery pos- teemed Herr Professor,” it began . sible), discoverer of tuberculin, dis- coverer among other bacteria of the Stimulated by your work on bacteria tubercle bacillus, just fifty years ago; published in Contributions to the Biology in fact the Father of scientific bacteri- of Plants, I have for some time been at work on investigations of anthrax con- ology. He takes his place with Pasteur and Lister among the great benefactors * Called “ Pflanzen-Cohn ” to separate him of mankind. from “Augen-Cohn” (H. L.). tagium, as I was able to secure the neces- butter and cheese only at night, white sary material. After many vain attempts, bread Sunday morning and meat twice I have finally been successful in discover- a week. He knew such luxuries as ing the process of development of the coffee, sugar, tea, only by name. He Bacillus anthracis. After many experi- received poor instruction in the local ments, I believe to be able to state the Gymnasium where discipline was such results of these researches with sufficient certainty. Before I bring this into the that the teachers and not the pupils open I respectfully appeal to you, es- were at times chastised. Though he teemed Herr Professor, as the foremost had announced that he would study authority on bacteria, to give me your philology, later he decided upon a judgment regarding this discovery. Un- mercantile career as he loved to travel. fortunately I am unable to prove this by The family were ultimately able finan- means of preparations containing the cially to send him to the University of individual stages of development as the Goettingen, where finally he studied attempt to conserve the bacteria in the medicine under Henle, Hasse and respective fluids has failed. I would, Meissner. His industry won for him a therefore, respectfully request you to place in the pathological museum and, permit me to show you, within the next signing an essay on the “Ganglion few days, in the Botanical Institute, the essential experiments. Should you, Cells of the Nerves of the Uterus” highly esteemed Professor, be willing to with the phrase, Nunquam otiosus, grant my humble request, will you never at leisure, he won a prize. His kindly appoint the time when I may graduation thesis was on the origin of come to Breslau? With the highest succinic acid in the body and in its esteem, Yours Respectfully, R. Koch, preparation he succeeded in upsetting District Physician. his own stomach. Graduating in 1866 at nineteen, But who was this Robert Koch? And after a short interneship in the general why was Cohn so interested in his hospital in Hamburg, he accepted a work? position as externe in a hospital for His Ear ly Year s the insane at Langenhagen, near Han- over, and began private practice with Born in 1843 at Clausthal, on the western or Hanover Slope of the the purchase of a riding horse. Shortly Harz Mountains, a “perfect epitome after graduating, when he still had of mineralogy,” one of the elder of plans to become a ship’s surgeon in thirteen children, the third child and order to see the world, he had become one of the eleven boys, son of a engaged, by promising to give up such ideas, to a boyhood sweetheart, Emmy Bergrat, a scientific superintendent of Adolphine Josephine Fraatz, also of *mines, Robert Hermann Heinrich Clausthal, daughter of a Lutheran Koch was frugally reared on black minister. They were now (1867) mar- bread, sweet and butter milk, legumes, ried and in 1868 Koch’s only child, a * The German miner of these times, where daughter, Gertrude, was born. He skill and art were required, had been con- made little headway financially, and sidered not long before a servant of God, resigned and moved to Niemegk, but combating demons of the subterranean deep, a member of a mystic craft. With these men, fared no better and considered emi- young Koch spent much time collecting grating to America where he had two specimens of minerals. or three brothers. Moving again in July 1869 to Posen, he settled in finally collected, no doubt in an old Rakwitz, where he soon had a satis- stein, a fund sufficient to make him a factory practice and could afford to present on his birthday of a new micro- buy some experimental animals. Pre- scope, such as he desired. viously rejected on account of his Koch had studied medicine for the nearsightedness, he voluntarily en- reason that by doing so he might listed for the short Franco-Prussian indulge in his hobby for natural war. On his return, after five months’ history. He always found time to do experience in field surgery, his practice some microscopic work and was espe- increased and in 1872 he was ap- cially interested in algae. At this time pointed at a yearly salary of 900 marks anthrax was decimating the herds of District Physician to Wollstein, a cattle and the flocks of sheep of a nearby town of 4000 inhabitants, large part of Europe, and when he where he already enjoyed what con- had a little leisure he worked con- sultation practice there was. stantly upon this disease for, as he says, it was at hand. He had to Life at Wol lst ei n devise all his implements; but with his ingenuity this apparently caused Posen was the most benighted prov- him little difficulty. For example, he ince of Germany, more Polish than inoculated his mice from one to German, and to eke out a restricted another, with little slivers of wood. living, he spent many a long Polish Now Ferdinand Cohn himself had winter night jogging on horseback worked unsuccessfully on the problem over rough roads to see a child with of attempting to isolate a pure strain croup, to usher into the unknown the of bacteria for he realized that until soul of some expiring peasant or into this was done little advance could be this stormy known the child of another, expected. I have no doubt he was and all this for small fees, counting as delighted to receive such a letter but I successful the day when he made as also feel sure that on account of pre- much as five or six dollars. Near- vious disappointments he dared not sighted, rather slender, full bearded, let his hopes rise too high. somewhat brusque, little given to society, a man of few words except to Bac ter io lo gy be for e Koc h intimates, respected for his ability but hardly loved by his fellow citizens To grasp what all this really meant who saw little of him (he was the to Cohn it is necessary to go back a busiest physician in the village), he century to the time when Leeuwenhoek worked in his little laboratory formed improved the microscope, when was by curtaining off a portion of his revealed to man for the first time a private office. I doubt if the corner of new world, so confused, so puzzling, any private office has ever meant as that the findings were grouped by much to the suffering world. Here he Linnaeus, the botanist, under the head placed a microtome, a home-made of “Chaos.” The germ theory of incubator built by himself, and an old disease was not new for Plenciz had fashioned microscope. He was unable believed in a contagium vivum, putre- to buy a modern microscope but his faction was said to be caused by living good wife by scrimping and saving organisms (Spallanzani, Schultze), and the inoculation into the thigh of pus A little later Lister, unaware of Le- from a syphilitic chancre had pro- maire’s work, developed brilliantly duced a pustule containing the same his antiseptic technique for surgery. vibrios as were found in the chancre About the middle of the nineteenth (Donne, 1837). century PoIIender as the first, and a In 1837, the small round bodies little later Davaine and Delafond, noted previously in beer were seen to proved conclusively that anthrax ba- grow as the fermentation increased, cilli occurred in every case of anthrax and were considered to be living plants, but did not prove it to be alive or called by Turpin, Torula cerevisiae. even the cause of the disease for At this same time Bassi showed that another substance, living or dead, muscadine, a contagious disease of might be transferred with the sus- the silk worm, was due also to a pected organism and so prove later to minute plant.