The history of microbiology is the first seminar I presented and the topic was given to me by my HOD. I referred to The history of Medicine book by Jaypee publishers, Microbe Hunters, Paniker's Microbiology 10th edition, ncbi, britannica, and numerous ppts I found online done by diff ppl. There were minor corrections done after this version with a slide for Hippocrates contribution and the springing of new fields of microbiology after the Golden Era.

1. History of
Microbiology
Dr Dayeetaa Mallick
1st Year PGT
KPC Medical College & Hospital
Rudolf Virchow

2. Introduction
•The discipline of science which deals with laws of
life and development of organisms especially
microscopic or submicroscopic forms of life is
known as microbiology.
•“micro” – too small to be seen with naked eye
•“bio” – life
•“logy” - study

3. • Bacteria –
Bacteriology
• Protozoa –
Protozoology
• Algae - Phycology
• Fungi - Mycology
• Virus – Virology

4. History of Microbiology
• Discovery era (ancient time)
• Transition era (pre 1860s)
• Golden era (1860-1900)
• Modern era (post 1900s)
Hippocrates
(460-370BC)

5. Theories
• Miasma theory
• Spontaneous Generation/ Abiogenesis
• Biogenesis
• Germ theory

6. Discovery Era
(Ancient Time)

7. Spontaneous
Generation Debate
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
• Introduced belief in the
spontaneous generation of life
from non living matter 350 BC
• “readily observable that aphids
arise from dew which falls on
plants, fleas from putrid matter,
mice from dirty hay.”
• Unchallenged for around 2000
years…

8. Transition Era
(Pre 1860s)

9. Redi & Jablot’s
Experiment
Disapproved by
Schwann, Schroder
von Dusch & Tyndall
1830s
Redi’s experiment was 1st
to formally challenge
spontaneous
generation 1668

10. “Vegetative
Force”
John Needham
Lazzaro
Spallanzani
Needham vs Spallanzani
➢ Needham supported
spontaneous
generation; proposed
about “the force that
is the source of
creation”
➢ Spallanzani opposed
him

11. Robert Hooke (1635-1703)
• Made and used compound microscope 1660s
• Described his views in Micrographia 1665
• Included his view that life’s smallest structural
units were cells

12. Antonie van
Leeuwenhoek
(1632-1723)
1st to see and describe bacteria 1676
Produced lens of magnification 300-
500x
Called bacteria “animalcules”, recorded
& sent to Royal Society of London
Grinded lens for passion, Dutch cloth
merchant
Worked in Royal Society of London
1674-1723

13. “Animalcules”

14. Spontaneous Generation Debate
• Robert Bacon- disease caused by minute “seed” or
“germ” 13th century
• Girolamo Fracastoro- treatise on germ theory
entitled “de Contagione” 1546, disease can
transmit from person to person
• Robert Hooke, Anton van Leeuwenhoek
• Sedillot- “microbe” word used 1878

15. Germ Theory of Disease
• Marcus Plenciz- proposed germ theory
1762
• Benedict Provost- supported germ theory
1807
• Jakob Henle- advanced germ theory
concept 1840, proposed the idea of Koch’s
postulates originally
• Semmelweis & Holmes- puerperal fever,
hand washing 1847
• Rudolf Virchow- concept of biogenesis 1858
• Bassi, Schoelein & Gruby- causation of
disease

16. Discovery of Microscopes
• Roger Bacon- developed lens 1st time 1267
• Jansen & Jansen- devised croute type microscope
1590, principle of microscope 1609
• Faber- 1st proposed microscope 1625
• Robert Hooke- 1660s
• Leeuwenhoek- 1676

17. Golden Era
(1860-1900)

18. Louis Pasteur
• Father of
Bacteriology
• Father of
Microbiology
• Coined
“microbiology”,
aerobic, anaerobic,
vaccine
• Proved germ
theory 1861
• Institut Pasteur
1888

19. • Showed process of fermentation by
yeast 1857
• Pasteur & Roux- attenuated bacteria,
chicken cholera 1880
• Pasteur & Chamberland- attenuated
anthrax vaccine, rabies vaccine 1885
• He patented Pasteurization, aseptic
technique
• Proved disease in silkworms by
protozoan parasites

21. Robert Koch
• Discovered bacillus anthracis in cows dead of
anthrax
• Discovered causative agent of TB 1882, cholera
1883
• Demonstrated role of bacteria in causing disease
1876
• Perfected isolating bacteria in pure culture
• Father of Bacteriology
• Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, Berlin 1891
• Established Koch’s postulates to show cause &
effect relationship of microbe & disease

23. Koch’s Phenomenon

24. Development of
Culture Media
• Koch 1st to introduce pure culture,
streak plate method, used gelatin
1870s-1880s
• Fanne Hesse w/o Walter Hesse
proposed use of agar in culture
media
• Richard Petri developed Petri dish
1887
• Raymond Sabouraud- developed
culture media to study yeasts &
molds
• Christian Gram developed staining
method
Robert Koch
(1843-1910)
Liebig Extract of Meat
Company(Lemco) 1865

25. Alexander Flemming
(1881-1955)
• Discovered penicillin accidentally from Penicillium
notatum growing on Staphylococcus culture plate
of 2 weeks 1928
• Featured on cover of Time magazine 1944, “His
penicillin will save more lives than war can
spend” (WWII)
• Triggered “arms race” of development of new
antibiotics wrt antibiotic resistance seen by
Staph, eg streptomycin, methicillin, clindamycin

29. John Tyndall (1820-1893)
Tyndall- patented
Tyndallisation 1876
Also discovered
endospore
Ferdinand Cohn-
discovered endospores
1876

30. Edward Jenner
(1749-1823)
Jenner- developed 1st
vaccine for smallpox
Discovered technique of
vaccination 1796
Lister- Father of
antiseptic surgery
Promoted sterilization,
promoted use of
carbolic acid as
antiseptic before
surgeries to reduce
incidence of gangrenes,
published findings 1867

31. • Florence Nightingale-
emphasised cleanliness in
hospitals
• Ronald Ross- discovered malaria
parasite 1896, India
• Charles Chamberland- invented
autoclave
• Jules Bordet- discovered
whooping cough bacillus,
complement
• Albert Calmette- cobra antivenin,
BCG

33. Important Discoveries

34. Modern Era
(Post 1900s)

35. Paul Ehrlich (1920)
• Father of Chemotherapy
• Discovered treatment of syphilis by using arsenic
(salvarsan)
• Proposed theory of antitoxin 1890s, selective
toxicity
• “We must learn to shoot microbes with Magic
Bullets”
• Developed staining procedure for tubercle bacilli

36. Emil von Behring
Ilya Metchnikoff
Father of Immunology
Made 1st antibody, Nobel
Prize 1901(immune
therapy)
Discovered phagocytosis
by macrophages, innate
immunity
Ehrlich & Metchnikoff Nobel Prize
1908(humoral & cellular immunity)

37. • Discovery of DNA as genetic material 1944 by
Avery, MacLeod & McCarty
• Discovery of conjugation 1946
• Watson & Crick- determined structure of DNA
along with Franklin & Wilkins 1953

41. THANK YOU
“Chance favors invention only for minds prepared
for discoveries by patient study and persevering
efforts.” – Louis Pasteur