Theodor Escherich

Theodor Escherich (29 November 1857 – 15 February 1911) was a German-Austrian pediatrician and a professor at universities in Munich, Graz, and Vienna. He discovered the bacterium Escherichia coli, which was named after him in 1919, and determined its properties. He was born in Ansbach, Kingdom of Bavaria, and he died in Vienna, Austria-Hungary.

Life

Theodor Escherich was awarded a doctorate in medicine in 1881. Early on he devoted himself to the study of bacteriology. He discovered Escherichia coli in 1885

In 1890 Escherich became Professor of Pediatrics at the Karl-Franz University of Graz and in 1894 only the third ordentliche Professor (full professor) in this area of medicine. In 1902 he became Professor of Pediatrics in Vienna, where he directed the St.-Anna-Kinderspital (~ St. Anna Childrens' Hospital).

Escherich became renowned in 1903 when he founded the "Säuglingsschutz" (~ Infant Defence Society) and started a high profile campaign for breastfeeding.

WEW

1906 — Awarded title of k. k. Hofrat (Advisor to the Royal Court)

References

Barbara A. Oberbauer: Theodor Escherich - Leben und Werk. FAC, Vol. 11,3. [published by the Paul-Ehrlich-Gesellschaft für Chemotherapie e.V.]. Futuramed-Verlag, Munich, Germany 1992, ISBN 3-923599-66-8
Theodor Hellbrügge (Hrsg.) et al.: Gründer und Grundlagen der Kinderheilkunde. Documenta pädiatrica, Vol. 4. Hansisches Verlagskontor, Luebeck, Germany 1979 — also contains Grundlagen und Ziele der modernen Pädiatrie um die Jahrhundertwende by Theodor Escherich