Walter Hesse
Encyclopedia
Walther Hesse is best known for his work in microbiology
, specifically his work in developing Agar
as a medium for culturing microorganisms.
, Lusatia
, as one of 12 children in the family of a medical practitioner, Hesse attended the Kreuzschule in Dresden
and studied medicine at the University of Leipzig
with Ernst Leberecht Wagner
from 1866 till 1870, when he received his doctorate
in pathology
. Afterwards he participated in the Franco-Prussian War
, and therein in the Battle of Gravelotte
.
As a ship's doctor on the New York Line 1872/73 he examined seasickness – his works were classified by Prof. Gavingel of Le Havre
as the first scientific study on this topic at all. In New York
, Hesse met his later wife Angelina Fannie Eilshemius. The Eilshemius family were immigrants of Dutch-German origin – Angelina's brother Louis Eilshemius
is known as an important painter, Swiss painter Louis Léopold Robert was their common grandfather. Walther and Angelina married 1874 in Geneva
, together with Angelina's sister and a nephew of Louis Agassiz
.
After some years as a medical practitioner in Pirna
and Zittau
, Hesse went 1877 to Schwarzenberg, Saxony
. His investigations in Schneeberger Bergkrankheit, responsible for the commonly early death of miners in the Ore Mountains, are credited as the first unveiling of working conditions as cause of an interior disease (lung cancer
). Within his time in Schwarzenberg, he took a year with Max Joseph von Pettenkofer
at Munich
to deepen his knowledge in occupational hygiene
.
Hesse joined Robert Koch
's laboratory (effectively in a post-doctoral position) in 1881 to study air quality. He was convinced that microorganisms were present everywhere, even in water and in the air. He used a series of filters, made mainly from wadding, in attempts to capture and observe microorganisms. When culturing the organisms he trapped with his filter, he used a gelatin
-containing medium capable of solidifying. Frustratingly, the medium had a tendency to melt during the summer months, thus ruining the experiments. Additionally, many of the organisms he cultured were capable of degrading the gelatin medium, also ruining his experiments.
Legend has it that Hesse went on a picnic with his wife Angelina Fannie and noticed that the jellies and puddings that she had brought along did not melt in the hot summer weather. When asked why this was so, Lina (as she was called) replied that they contained Agar, and that she had been shown the trick by a Dutch neighbor (recently emigrated from Java (Indonesia
)) when she was growing up. Further development of agar showed that it would not easily melt (though would remain molten at lower temperatures once it did), was not easily degraded by microorganisms and was a flexible medium.
In later years, Hesse was district physician in Dresden. He continued his scientific works, experimented with Petri dishes and investigated the microbiological foundations of typhus
, cholera
and diphtheria
. He operated a laboratory at the Technical College Dresden together with Walther Hempel. Hesse introduced pasteurization
of milk in Pfund's dairy. The family's tomb at the cemetery of Serkowitz
was created by Arnold Kramer.
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
, specifically his work in developing Agar
Agar
Agar or agar-agar is a gelatinous substance derived from a polysaccharide that accumulates in the cell walls of agarophyte red algae. Throughout history into modern times, agar has been chiefly used as an ingredient in desserts throughout Asia and also as a solid substrate to contain culture medium...
as a medium for culturing microorganisms.
Biography
Born in BischofswerdaBischofswerda
Bischofswerda is a small town in Germany at the western edge of Upper Lusatia in Saxony.-Geography:The town is located 33 km to the east of Dresden at the edge of the Upper Lusatian mountain country. The town is known as the "Gateway to Upper Lusatia" - "Tor zur Oberlausitz" in German. It is...
, Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
, as one of 12 children in the family of a medical practitioner, Hesse attended the Kreuzschule in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and studied medicine at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
with Ernst Leberecht Wagner
Ernst Leberecht Wagner
Ernst Leberecht Wagner was a German pathologist who was a native of Dehlitz, a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt. He studied medicine in Leipzig under Karl August Wunderlich , in Prague under Josef Skoda and in Vienna under Karl von Rokitansky...
from 1866 till 1870, when he received his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
. Afterwards he participated in the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
, and therein in the Battle of Gravelotte
Battle of Gravelotte
The Battle of Gravelotte was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier.-Terrain and armies:...
.
As a ship's doctor on the New York Line 1872/73 he examined seasickness – his works were classified by Prof. Gavingel of Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
as the first scientific study on this topic at all. In New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Hesse met his later wife Angelina Fannie Eilshemius. The Eilshemius family were immigrants of Dutch-German origin – Angelina's brother Louis Eilshemius
Louis Eilshemius
Louis Michel Eilshemius was an American painter, primarily of landscapes and nudes. Although he was academically trained, much of his work has the unself-aware character of naive art...
is known as an important painter, Swiss painter Louis Léopold Robert was their common grandfather. Walther and Angelina married 1874 in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, together with Angelina's sister and a nephew of Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
.
After some years as a medical practitioner in Pirna
Pirna
Pirna is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 40,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a Große Kreisstadt...
and Zittau
Zittau
Zittau is a city in the south east of the Free State of Saxony, Germany, close to the border tripoint of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. , there are 28,638 people in the city. It is part of the Görlitz district....
, Hesse went 1877 to Schwarzenberg, Saxony
Schwarzenberg, Saxony
Schwarzenberg is a town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony’s Ore Mountains, near the German–Czech border. The town lies roughly 15 km southeast of Aue, and 35 km southwest of Chemnitz....
. His investigations in Schneeberger Bergkrankheit, responsible for the commonly early death of miners in the Ore Mountains, are credited as the first unveiling of working conditions as cause of an interior disease (lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
). Within his time in Schwarzenberg, he took a year with Max Joseph von Pettenkofer
Max Joseph von Pettenkofer
Max Joseph von Pettenkofer , Bavarian chemist and hygienist, was born in Lichtenheim, near Neuburg an der Donau, now part of Weichering. He was a nephew of Franz Xaver Pettenkofer , who from 1823 was surgeon and apothecary to the Bavarian court and was the author of some chemical investigations on...
at Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
to deepen his knowledge in occupational hygiene
Occupational hygiene
Occupational hygiene is generally defined as the art and science dedicated to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, communication and control of environmental stressors in, or arising from, the workplace that may result in injury, illness, impairment, or affect the well being of workers and...
.
Hesse joined Robert Koch
Robert Koch
Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch was a German physician. He became famous for isolating Bacillus anthracis , the Tuberculosis bacillus and the Vibrio cholerae and for his development of Koch's postulates....
's laboratory (effectively in a post-doctoral position) in 1881 to study air quality. He was convinced that microorganisms were present everywhere, even in water and in the air. He used a series of filters, made mainly from wadding, in attempts to capture and observe microorganisms. When culturing the organisms he trapped with his filter, he used a gelatin
Gelatin
Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle , flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar...
-containing medium capable of solidifying. Frustratingly, the medium had a tendency to melt during the summer months, thus ruining the experiments. Additionally, many of the organisms he cultured were capable of degrading the gelatin medium, also ruining his experiments.
Legend has it that Hesse went on a picnic with his wife Angelina Fannie and noticed that the jellies and puddings that she had brought along did not melt in the hot summer weather. When asked why this was so, Lina (as she was called) replied that they contained Agar, and that she had been shown the trick by a Dutch neighbor (recently emigrated from Java (Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
)) when she was growing up. Further development of agar showed that it would not easily melt (though would remain molten at lower temperatures once it did), was not easily degraded by microorganisms and was a flexible medium.
In later years, Hesse was district physician in Dresden. He continued his scientific works, experimented with Petri dishes and investigated the microbiological foundations of typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
, cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
and diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
. He operated a laboratory at the Technical College Dresden together with Walther Hempel. Hesse introduced pasteurization
Pasteurization
Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food...
of milk in Pfund's dairy. The family's tomb at the cemetery of Serkowitz
Radebeul
Radebeul is a town in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well-known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May and a narrow gauge railway connecting Radebeul with the castle of Moritzburg and the town of Radeburg...
was created by Arnold Kramer.