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384 BCE
Aristotle
Aristotle came up with the first theory of spontaneous generation, which said that living things can come from nonliving things because the nonliving material contains pneuma(vital heat). -
Antonie wan Leeuwenhoek
Known as the Father of Microbiology and the Father of Microscopy, Leeuwenhoek, the son of a dutch linen merchant, was the first to observe living microbes and created the single lens magnified up to 300x. -
Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus was known as the Father of Taxonomy. His contribution to the hierarchical system resulted in the classification of nature. -
Edward Jenner
Edward Jenner created the first vaccine for smallpox by infecting James Phipps with cowpox to help create the immunity. Jenner's often referred to as the Father of Immunology because his work "saved more lives than the work of any other human." -
John Snow
John Snow is considered one of the Fathers of Modern Epidemiology for his work in the adoption of anesthesia, medical hygiene, and tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho, London. -
Florence Nightingale
The Lady with the Lamp, Florence Nightingale, founded modern nursing and revolutionized the way medicine is practiced. -
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur showed that microbes caused fermentation and spoilage, disproved spontaneous generation with the Theory of Biogenesis, and developed pasteurization. He also contributed to what is now known as the Germ Theory of Disease alongside Robert Koch. -
Joseph Lister
Joseph Lister introduced carbolic acid (aseptic techniques,) to sterilize surgical instruments and clean wounds. He is known as the Father of Antiseptic surgery by looking at research done by Louis Pasteur to assist in his own research. -
Robert Koch
Robert Koch, the founder of modern bacteriology, is known for his role in the identification of causative agents of tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax. In addition to his study on these diseases, Koch helped to improve laboratory technologies and techniques in the field of microbiology and made key discoveries in public health along with Koch's Postulates. -
Hans Ernst August Buchner
Hans Ernst August Buchner, a German bacteriologist, studied medicine and was a pioneer in the field of Immunology. He was the first to discover a substance in blood serum that was capable of destroying bacteria and introduced the pyrogallic method for cultivation of anaerobic bacteria.
