Brief History of Immunology

As immunology was discovered in the 1900s, there were many scientists that conducted elaborate experiments to discover different structures and functions in order to uncover the basis of immunity.

Louis Pasteur (Father of Immunology) [1822-1895]

Louis Pasteur was a french chemist who was well-known for his discoveries of pasteurization, developing vaccines for anthrax and rabies and inventing the Germ Theory of Disease in 1861. Pasteurization was a procedure to heat up beverages to destroy any active bacteria and subsequently cooling down the temperature. His first vaccination discovery began in 1879 for chicken cholera disease and later on extended his research on producing vaccinations for diseases like anthrax, cholera, TB and smallpox. His experiment occurred by accidentally exposing chickens to active bacterial cells/viral particles and made it evident that they became resistant to the virus.

Élie Metchnikoff (Discovered phagocytosis) [1845-1916]

Élie Metchnikoff was a Russion zoologist who discovered Phagocytosis through animal experiments in 1882. Phagocytosis is a process of active living cells/one-celled organisms that may ingest foreign microorganisms such as bacteria and/or dust. A perfect example are white blood cells (leukocytes) as they are key contributors to the immune system. His discovery of phagocytes allowed for the building blocks for Metchnikoff’s cellular theory of immunity (1892).

Emil Von Behring [1854-1917] & Paul Ehrlich [1854-1915] (Discovered and Identified Antibodies)

Emil Von Behring was a German physiologist who is well-known for the discovery of an antitoxin for diphtheria and neutralizing antibodies. Paul Ehrlich was a German physician and scientist who specialized in immunology to work with Emil Von Behring. They learned that the immune system produces antibodies within blood in order to neutralize toxins formed by bacteria. This was evident as they conducted experiments to transfer blood serum with antibodies to counteract the Diphtheria disease.