author

W. (Walter) Migula

1863–1938

Best known for helping shape early bacteriology, this German botanist and microbiologist gave scientists a clearer way to describe and classify bacteria at a time when the field was still taking form. His books became important reference works for researchers studying microbes at the turn of the 20th century.

1 Audiobook

Die Tier- und Pflanzenwelt des Süsswassers. Erster Band.

Die Tier- und Pflanzenwelt des Süsswassers. Erster Band.

by F. A. (François Alphonse) Forel, August Gruber, Friedrich Ludwig, W. (Walter) Migula, Ludwig Plate, Julius Vosseler, Wilhelm Weltner

About the author

Born on November 4, 1863, Walter Migula was a German botanist and microbiologist from Upper Silesia. He worked in an era when scientists were still building the basic language and systems used to study bacteria, and he became known for careful, methodical work in both botany and bacteriology.

Migula is especially remembered for his multi-volume System der Bakterien, a major effort to classify bacteria and describe their characteristics. His writing helped organize a fast-growing field and gave other researchers a framework they could use in laboratories and teaching.

He died on June 23, 1938, in Eisenach. Although his name is most familiar today to specialists, his work belongs to the foundational period of microbiology, when the modern study of bacteria was being assembled piece by piece.