Dr. Friederich Eurich (1867–1945) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology— a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

Early life and education

He was born in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

descent, he came to England at the age of seven. His father moved to the branch of a German yarn firm in Little Germany,

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, where there was a substantial German community. Friederich was educated at Bradford Grammar School and trained at

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, graduating MD in 1897. He set up a general practice in Bradford in 1896 and held a Saturday morning surgery, free of charge, at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Career

Cutaneous

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

(wool sorter's disease) had become a serious problem in the woollen mills of Bradford, the use of

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. Traditionally, alpacas were kept in herds that grazed on the level heights of the Andes of Southern Peru, Western Bolivia, Ecuador, and Northern Chile. More recentl ...

and

mohair Mohair (pronounced ) originated from the Arabic word �هيرand it is a fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat (not Angora wool from the fur of the Angora rabbit). Both durable and resilient, mohair is lustrous with high shee ...

from Central Asia was the source of the disease. To counter the problem, Bradford Council established a Pathological and Bacteriological Laboratory and Eurich was appointed bacteriologist. The laboratory was originally located in the

Technical College An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

but in 1905 the Bradford Anthrax Investigation Board relocated the laboratory to Morley Street, where Eurich became the bacteriologist to the board. With Eurich's expertise in the field of

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the iden ...

, and putting his own health at great risk while investigating the disease, the Board instituted other medical measures against anthrax and, in 1918, built a Wool Disinfecting Station in Liverpool. The investigative nature of his work as a bacteriologist encouraged him to apply for the post of Professor of Forensic Medicine at

Leeds Medical School The School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Leeds, in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The School of Medicine was founded in 1831. The School of Medicine now forms part of the University's Faculty of Medicine an ...

in 1908. The year’s work involved 40 lectures, all in the autumn term, and acting as internal examiner twice a year. For this he received an honorarium of £38 p.a. until he retired from the post in 1932. He was a popular teacher, achieved outstanding results, which he put down to the intrinsic allure of the subject - the glamour of the detective story.

Death and recognition

On Friederich Eurich's death in February 1945, the ''Yorkshire Observer'' recorded that he "did so much to conquer the disease of anthrax and his contributions in the cause of medicine were so outstanding."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eurich, Friederich Wilhelm 1867 births 1945 deaths German bacteriologists Anthrax People from Chemnitz Emigrants from the German Empire to the United Kingdom People educated at Bradford Grammar School