Robert Koch

---

Robert Koch

---

Robert Koch
• In the late 19th century two of the most dangerous killer 
diseases were cholera and tuberculosis. Cholera was 
nicknamed 'King Cholera' because no one seemed to be 
able to cure it. Tuberculosis was known as the 'White Death' 
because sufferers vomited up white matter as their lungs 
disintegrated. The man who made a breakthrough in the 
fight against these diseases was Robert Koch. 

---

Who Was Robert Koch?
• Koch was a German scientist, born in Hanover in 
1843. Koch read Louis Pasteur's work and in 1872 
began research into the microbes affecting 
diseased animals and people. 

---

What made him Famous
• In 1878 Koch discovered that microbes cause wounds to go 
septic, but his big breakthrough came when he decided to 
stain microbes with dye, enabling him to photograph them 
under a microscope. Using this method he was able to study 
them more effectively and prove that every disease was 
caused by a different germs. He identified the microbes that 
caused tuberculosis in 1882 and cholera in 1883. 

---

How did he do this?
• Koch's discoveries were the result of careful research and 
observation using the microscope, photography and dyes. 
As a result of his work, the German government also set up 
an 'Institute of Infectious Diseases' in Berlin in 1891 for 
medical research and development. These developments 
set the pattern for the future. In the 20th century medical 
research has increasingly involved teams of researchers 
supported by large public or private funds. 

---

Results of his Research
• The scientific evidence of 
microbes helped reformers in 
public health prove that 
pollution spread disease. It 
meant certain kinds of action 
could be taken to prevent 
certain types of disease, since 
cholera was carried in water, for 
example, its spread could be 
prevented with clean water 
supplies. 

---

Long Term Importance
• Koch was responsible for establishing the new 'Science of 
Modern Bacteriology'. By 1900 he and his students had 
identified 21 germs causing diseases. Koch's assistant, Emil 
Behring, developed the first anti-toxin that could help to 
destroy the poison spread by bacteria in the blood stream. 
Koch's research on bacteria won him the Nobel Prize in 
1905. 
•
Back to Lesson Menu