Robert Koch was a famous German physician who gained renown as one of the founders of bacteriology and microbiology. Koch was very much interested in how the disease known as anthrax spread from cattle to humans.
He laid down four criteria in 1890 for establishing the cause of an infectious disease. These rules are known as ‘Koch’s postulates’. Many of the basic principle and techniques of modern bacteriology were adapted, or devised by Robert Koch, who therefore is often regarded as the chief founder of that science.
Robert Koch’s brilliant contributions were acknowledged in 1905, and he won the Nobel Prize for medicine for his groundbreaking work on tuberculosis. Directly or indirectly, Koch has influenced authorities in many countries to introduce public health legislation based on knowledge of the origin of various infections.
He is also responsible for a more enlightened attitude towards the measure for controlling such disease, and the hygiene that must be observed for preventing, as well as treating them.