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Emil Adolf von Behring

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Doctor

The Resume

    (March 15, 1854-March 31, 1917)
    Born in Hansdorf, Germany (now Lawice, Poland)
    Birth name was Adolf Emil Behring
    Army physician and immunologist
    Discovered antitoxins for diphtheria and tetanus
    Received the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1901)
    Ennobled as a baron (1901)

Why he might be annoying:

    He suffered bouts of depression severe enough to require hospitalization.
    At age 42, he married the 18-year-old daughter of a hospital director.
    His initial treatment of patients with diphtheria antitoxin had inconsistent effects until Paul Ehrlich developed a method to standardize the antitoxin.
    He has been accused of downplaying Ehrlich's contribution to developing diphtheria antitoxin, possibly costing Ehrlich a share of the first Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He funded much of his early research into diphtheria out of his own pocket.
    He was nicknamed 'the savior of children' for creating a treatment for diphtheria, which had been a major cause of childhood deaths.
    He was one of the few people to have been awarded both the French Legion of Honor and the German Iron Cross. (The latter being awarded in recognition of the number of soldiers' lives saved by his tetanus antitoxin.)

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying