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Emil Adolf Behring was born to parents August Georg Behring and Augustine Zech, in Hansdorf, present day Poland. August was a teacher by profession and Augustine was his wife from his second marriage. Born on March 15, 1854, Emil grew up with twelve siblings and had a modest upbringing. Emil’s father wanted him to be a minister or a teacher, a profession which was very much in existence then.
Emil was prepped in orthodox studies at the Gymnasium of Hohenstein from where he completed his early education. Though the young kid was intrigued by the subject of medicine, the family’s financial condition prevented him from pursuing medicine at University.
Falling in line with family traditions, he enrolled at the University of Königsberg to pursue higher education in theology. It was at the university that one of his mentors gauged Emil’s interest in medicine and helped him earn a scholarship to the Army Medical College. He earned a degree in medicine in 1878.
After completing with his examinations he joined as an intern in a Berlin hospital named Charitè. He joined as an assistant surgeon for the cavalry troop in Posen in the year 1881. In the mid, he also became a physician for a short span of time.
It was in the year 1881 when Emil wrote his first paper on antisepsis and sepsis. He asked several questions and wanted clarity whether the living organism that lives within a human causing disease be completely removed. He started studying iodoform and its derivatives for disinfection.
In the year 1882, Emil got published, "Experimentelle Arbeiten über desinficierende Mittel" which was written during his time in Posen. He mentioned in his thesis that the behavior of the disinfectant varies depending on the organism it is working upon. In some cases, disinfectant does become stronger than the organism and in other cases vice versa.
In the year 1883, Emil moved from the West of Prussia to Winzig which was a location in Silesia. There he wrote another article about iodoform poisonings and its treatments. By the next four years, he received a promotion as a captain and was moved to Pharmacological Institute in Bonn for his advanced training. Later the same year Emil published another paper on the latest studies of acetylene and iodoform. At this particular institute, Emil got the needed environment to perform his research. In the year 1888, he joined the Academy of Military Service and in the year 1889, he was appointed to the Institute for Hygiene of the University of Berlin. Between the year 1889 and 1895, Emil was involved in his extensive research and was able to develop new ideas on his theories of antitoxins and the serum treatment. By the year 1889, he had finished with his army services and decided to join Robert Koch who managed the Institute for Hygiene of the University of Berlin as a full-time assistant.
In the year 1890, Emil worked with his partner Kitasato and they jointly published the paper on their studies of blood and serum therapy followed by another report a week later by Emil. He mentioned in his paper that the blood and serum therapy could also be used for diphtheria other than for the management of tetanus.
Emil was successful in making his discovery and establishing that the new antitoxin not only treated diphtheria bacilli but it also worked in increased dosages for diphtheria toxin. He had showcased the resistance ability of the organism.
In the year 1891, Emil delivered a public lecture for the very first time at the Seventh International hygiene Congress in London. The lecture was based on “Desinfektion am lebenden Organismus.” An year later he published his studies in "Die praktischen Ziele der Blutserumtherapie and der Immunisierungsmethoden zum Zwecke der Gewinnung von Heilserum and Das Tetanusheilserum and seine Anwendung auf tetanuskranke Menschen".
Since the diphtheria treating serum was extracted from guinea pig and from the sheep, it is not sure whether there was enough serum during that time for medication. It is stated that a case of diphtheria was handled by Emil’s colleagues at the Berlin University. When in 1894, André Martin and Roux brought out the details about the immunization of the horses; Emil expanded his studies based on that. From the year 1892, Emil was supported by Brüning, Lucius and Farbwerke Meister who also helped him financially for the research work.
In 1893, Emil became a professor. The same year he wrote two papers on ‘Die ätiologische Behandlung der Infektionskrankheiten and Geschichte der Diphtherie’. He also published two books on infectious diseases in the years 1894 and 1898 respectively.
In 1894 Emil joined as an assistant professor of Hygiene in Halle and later in the following year, he joined as a professor in Marburg where he continued with his research work. He became famous for his works and in the year 1895 was made the official of the Legion of Honor. He also received 50,000 francs as a prize from Académie de Médecine and another 50, 000 francs from Académie des Sciences. The same year he was also awarded the title of Geheimrat(privy councillor) in Prussia. His status was upgraded in the society.
From the year 1889, Emil started working on tuberculosis. His vaccinations failed initially but it did bring about awareness and important changes in the health policies. In the year 1905, Emil declared using hydrogen peroxide and Formalin for disinfecting the milk though it was found impractical.
With the success, Emil achieved with his work, his place of stay named Villa Behring gained social status and still exists today. He owned another home in Capri which he used for holidays.
Emil suffered from depression for some time for which he isolated himself and would move to Switzerland. He once had a fractured thigh which resulted in pseudarthrosis and this disease made Emil with limited mobility. His body kept on losing its health and when Emil suffered from Pneumonia, his physical state was unable to handle the overall state and he died on March 31, 1917 in Marburg. He had just turned 63 years of age then.
Emil Adolf Behring was a renowned German physiologist who was the first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He was instrumental in developing the studies on immunity and in this regard he made several important contributions. The most important ones being development of antitoxins to cure sepsis and diphtheria; both the diseases were cause of numerous deaths among the humans.
He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as a foreign member in 1902.
In 1895 he was made the official of the Legion of Honor.
Emil exchanged the nuptial vows with Else Spinola in 1896 and the couple had six children. They held their honeymoon at villa "Behring" on Capri 1897, where Behring owned a vacation home.
