Microbiology Scientists & Experiments

Miller-Urey Experiment

Mimicked early earth’s atmosphere and created life abiotically using lightning to demonstrate the potential origins of life on earth

Lucretius(1st century)

One of the first to believe that “invisible creatures” caused disease

Robert Hooke(17th century)

First to describe mold

Leeuwenhoek(17th century)

First to observe bacteria through a microscope he created. Called them “wee beasties”

Edward Jenner(18th century)

Developed the smallpox vaccine, pioneering the field of immunization.

Lady Mary Wortley Montague

Introduced variolation for smallpox prevention based on her observations of Turkish practices.

Semmelweis

introduced hand-washing as a way to prevent disease

Lister

pioneered antiseptic surgery, significantly reducing infection rates.

Nightingale

pioneered modern nursing practices and emphasized sanitation in hospitals.

Louis Pasteur(19th century)

a French microbiologist who developed the germ theory of disease and created vaccines for rabies and anthrax.

Robert Koch(19th century)

Created Koch’s postulates to determine which pathogen causes which disease

Sergei Winogradsky

Discovered chemoautotrophy. Known as the father of environmental microbiology

Ehrlich & Fleming

Pioneered chemotherapy

Carl Woeses(20th century)

Developed the three-domain system of classification, highlighting Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. Responsible for RNA world hypothesis