1. Walther Hesse is best known for his work in microbiology, specifically his work with his wife Fanny Hesse in developing agar as a medium for culturing microorganisms.
10 Facts About Walther Hesse
1. 2.
Walther 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.
3.
In New York City, Walther Hesse met his later wife Angelina Fanny Eilshemius whose brother Louis Eilshemius is known as an important painter as well.
4.
Walther Hesse joined Robert Koch's laboratory in 1881 to study air quality.
5.
Walther Hesse was convinced that microorganisms were present everywhere, even in water and in the air.
6.
Walther Hesse used a series of filters, made mainly from wadding, in attempts to capture and observe microorganisms.
7.
Walther Hesse had learned its use from a Dutch neighbor who had lived on the island of Java, in the Dutch East Indies.
8.
Walther Hesse found that the mixture of nutrients and agar-agar remained solid up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and passed the recipe on to Koch who used it successfully in his work.
9.
Walther Hesse continued his scientific works, experimented with Petri dishes and investigated the microbiological foundations of typhus, cholera and diphtheria.
10.
Walther Hesse operated a laboratory at the Technical College Dresden together with Walther Hempel.