Emil von Behring (German:[ˈeːmiːlfɔnˈbeːʁɪŋ]ⓘ;Emil Adolf von Behring: bornEmil Adolf Behring; 15 March 1854 – 31 March 1917), was a Germanphysiologist who received the 1901Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the first one awarded in that field, for his discovery of adiphtheriaantitoxin. He was widely known as a "saviour of children", as diphtheria used to be a major cause of child death.[1] His work with the disease, as well as tetanus, has come to bring him most of his fame and acknowledgment.[2] He was honoured withPrussian nobility in 1901, henceforth being known by the surname "von Behring".
Between 1874 and 1878, Emil von Behring studied medicine at theKaiser Wilhelm Academy inBerlin, an institution established for the training of military physicians. His enrollment there was largely due to financial necessity, as his family could not afford a civilian university education.[3] During his studies, Behring conducted early research on the antiseptic properties ofiodoform, reflecting the medical preoccupation of the time with preventing infection in surgical practice.
Following graduation, Behring earned his medical doctorate through work on neurotomia opticociliaris (optociliary neurotomy) which is a surgical procedure involving the optic nerve. Behring subsequently passed the state medical examination qualifying him to practice in the Marburg district.[4] In 1878, as part of his military service obligations, he was stationed in Poland, where he investigated septic diseases, an experience that deepened his understanding of infection and wound pathology. His skill and diligence attracted attention, leading to his transfer back toPrussia to work underRobert Koch, whose laboratory at theImperial Health Office was becoming a center of pioneering bacteriological research.[5]
Behring’s academic and professional advancement remained closely tied to his military sponsorship. For each semester of state-funded study, he was required to complete a year of military service as a surgeon this commitment that totaled two years, during which he served (1881–1883) with theSecond Hussar Regiment.[4]
An often overlooked aspect of Behring’s early career was his research in ophthalmology, conducted during his tenure at Wicherkiewicz’s hospital in Poznań. There, he authored a clinical paper on a case of ocular tumor, in which the patient ultimately succumbed to leukemia. Although the outcome was fatal, Behring’s detailed pathological observations contributed to contemporary discussions on surgical techniques and therapeutic strategies for ocular disease. His early ophthalmologic training under renowned specialists such asCarl Ernst Schweigger andWilhelm Uhthoff fostered this interest and culminated in his doctoral dissertation on diseases of the eye, a field that would later inform his meticulous experimental approach to infectious disease and immunity.[4]
In 1890 he published an article withKitasato Shibasaburō reporting that they had developed "antitoxins" against bothdiphtheria andtetanus. They had injected diphtheria and tetanus toxins intoguinea pigs, goats and horses; when these animals developed immunity, they derived antitoxins (now known to containantibodies) from theirserum. This process was called "serum therapy" at the time. Behring described this therapy as a way to induce permanent immunity or "to stimulate the body's internal disinfection".[6] These antitoxins could protect against and cure the diseases in non-immunized animals. In 1892 he started the first human trials of the diphtheria antitoxin, but they were unsuccessful. Successful treatment started in 1894, after the production and quantification of antitoxin had been optimized.[7] In 1894, Behring was also awarded theCameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh.
By 1895 Behring became Professor ofHygienics within the Faculty of Medicine at theUniversity of Marburg, a position held for the rest of his life. He and the pharmacologistHans Horst Meyer had their laboratories in the same building, and Behring stimulated Meyer's interest in the mode of action oftetanus toxin.[8]
Behring won the firstNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1901 for the development ofserum therapies against diphtheria. His research colleagueKitasato Shibasaburō who had performed most of the meticulous work that laid the foundation for serum therapy in 1890, while nominated as well, was not awarded the Nobel Prize as it was only given to a single awardee at the time.[9]
In 1904 he founded theBehringwerke in Marburg, a company to produce antitoxins and vaccines.
At the International Tuberculosis Congress in 1905 he announced that he had discovered "a substance proceeding from the virus of tuberculosis". This substance, which he designated "T C", plays the important part in the immunizing action of his "bovivaccine", which preventsbovinetuberculosis. He tried unsuccessfully to obtain a protective and therapeutic agents for humans.[11]
Laboratory of 1913 in the Wannkopfstraße in Marburg
von Behring is believed to have cheatedPaul Ehrlich out of recognition and financial reward in relation to collaborative research in diphtheria. The two men developed a diphtheria serum by repeatedly injecting the deadly toxin into a horse. The serum was used effectively during an epidemic in Germany. A chemical company preparing to undertake commercial production and marketing of the diphtheria serum offered a contract to both men, but von Behring manoeuvered to claim all the considerable financial rewards for himself. To add insult to injury, only Behring received the first Nobel Prize in Medicine, in 1901, for his contributions.[12] However, Ehrlich went on to win the 1908 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his contribution to immunology.[13]
Villa Behring (burgundy) on CapriBehring mausoleum in Marburg
On 29 December 1896 Behring married the then twenty-year-old Else Spinola (1876–1936), who was a daughter ofBernhard Spinola [de], the director of theCharité hospital in Berlin, and aJewish-born mother – Elise Spinola, born Bendix – who had converted to Christianity upon her marriage.[14] The couple had six sons: Fritz (1898–1966), Bernhard (1900–1918, killed in action on 20 July 1918 in Cuchéry/Marne), Hans (1903–1982), Kurt (1905–1935), Emil (1906–1970), and Otto (1913–2002), two of whom, Hans and Otto von Behring, also studied medicine.
The couple held their honeymoon at villa "Behring" onCapri 1897, where Behring owned a vacation home. In 1909–1911, the Russian writerMaxim Gorky lived at this villa.
^Legrum, Wolfgang; Al-Toma, Adnan J.; Netter, Karl J. (1992).125 Jahre Pharmakologisches Institut der Philipps-Universität Marburg. Marburg: N. G. Elwert Verlag.ISBN3770809858.
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