Historical Chronology WORLD OF MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY1883 Edward Theodore Klebs and Frederich Loeffler
independently discover Corynebacterium diphthe-
riae, the bacterium that causes diphtheria.1883 Walther Flemming, Eduard Strasburger and Edouard
Van Beneden demonstrate that, in eukaryotic cells,
chromosome doubling occurs by a process of longi-
tudinal splitting. Strasburger describes and names the
prophase, metaphase, and anaphase stages of mitosis.1883 Wilhelm Roux suggests that chromosomes carry the
hereditary factors.1884 Elie Metchnikoff discovers the antibacterial activity
of white blood cells, which he calls “phagocytes,”
and formulates the theory of phagocytosis. He also
develops the cellular theory of vaccination.1884 Hans Christian J. Gram develops the Gram stain.1884 Louis Pasteur and coworkers publish a paper entitled
“A New Communication on Rabies.” Pasteur proves
that the causal agent of rabies can be attenuated and
the weakened virus can be used as a vaccine to pre-
vent the disease. This work serves as the basis of
future work on virus attenuation, vaccine develop-
ment, and the concept that variation is an inherent
characteristic of viruses.1884 Oscar Hertwig, Eduard Strasburger, Albrecht von
Kölliker, and August Weismann independently
report that the cell nucleus serves as the basis for
inheritance.1885 Francis Galton devise a new statistical tool, the cor-
relation table.1885 French chemist Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) inocu-
lates a boy, Joseph Meister, against rabies. Meister
had been bitten by an infected dog. The treatment
saves his life. This is the first time Pasteur uses an
attenuated germ on a human being.1885 Paul Ehrlich proposes that certain chemicals such as
arsenic are toxic to bacteria.1885 Theodor Escherich identifies a bacterium inhabiting
the human intestinal tract that he names Bacterium
coliand shows that the bacterium causes infant diar-
rhea and gastroenteritis. The bacterium is subse-
quently named Escherichia coli.1886 Adolf Mayer publishes the landmark article
“Concerning the Mosaic Disease of Tobacco.” This
paper is considered the beginning of modern experi-
mental work on plant viruses. Mayer assumes that
the causal agent is a bacterium, though he is unable
to isolate it.1887 Julius Richard Petri develops a culture dish that has
a lid to exclude airborne contaminants. The innova-
tion is subsequently termed the Petri plate.1888 Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried Waldeyer coins the term
“chromosome.” Waldeyer also introduces the use of
hematoxylin as a histological stain.1888 Martinus Beijerinck uses a growth medium enriched
with certain nutrients to isolate the bacterium
Rhizobium, demonstrating that nutritionally tailored
growth media are useful in bacterial isolation.1888 The Institute Pasteur is formed in France.1889 Richard Altmann develops a method of preparing
nuclein that is apparently free of protein. He calls his
protein-free nucleins “nucleic acids.”1889 Theodor Boveri and Jean-Louis-Léon Guignard
establish the numerical equality of the paternal and
maternal chromosomes at fertilization.1891 Charles-Edouard Brown-Sequard suggests the con-
cept of internal secretions (hormones).1891 Paul Ehrlich proposes that antibodies are responsible
for immunity.1891 Robert Koch proposes the concept of delayed type
hypersensitivity.1892 August Weismann publishes his landmark treatise
The Germ Plasm: A Theory of Heredity, which
emphasizes the role of meiosis in the distribution of
chromosomes during the formation of gametes.1892 Dmitri Ivanowski demonstrates that filterable mate-
rial causes tobacco mosaic disease. The infectious
agent is subsequently showed to be the tobacco
mosaic virus. Ivanowski’s discovery creates the field
of virology.1892 George M. Sternberg publishes his Practical Results
of Bacteriological Researches. Sternberg’s realiza-
tion that a specific antibody was produced after
infection with vaccinia virus and that immune serum
could neutralize the virus becomes the basis of virus
serology. The neutralization test provides a technique
for diagnosing viral infections, measuring the
immune response, distinguishing antigenic similari-
ties and differences among viruses, and conducting
retrospective epidemiological surveys.1893 William Bateson publishes Materials for the Study of
Variation, which emphasizes the importance of dis-
continuous variations (the kinds of variation studied
by Mendel).1894 Alexandre Yersin isolates Yersinia (Pasteurella)
pestis, the bacterium responsible for bubonic plague.1894 Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen discovers x rays.1897 John Jacob Abel (1857–1938), American physiolo-
gist and chemist, isolates epinephrine (adrenalin).
This is the first hormone to be isolated.650•
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