Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Paul Ehrlich

March 1854, Strehlen/Silesia – 20 August 1915, Bad Homburg

Chemist, physician, serologist and immunologist, Paul Ehrlich is regarded as the founder of chemotherapy. After graduating from medical school he continued his clinical training at Berlin's Charité Hospital. He worked at the Charité from 1878 to 1887, first as an assistant and later as a senior physician. In 1891 Robert Koch appointed him to the newly founded Institute of Infectious Diseases. Ehrlich moved to Frankfurt-am-Main in 1899.

He developed the first drug treatment for syphilis and was also involved in the development of the serum against diphtheria. In 1908 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine - together with the Russian Ilya Metchnikoff - in recognition of their work on immunity.