A Chronology Of Biotechnology’s Classical Era (1800-1945)

Posted on by Brian Colwell

The classical era of biotechnology, spanning from 1800 to 1945, represents a transformative period where humanity began to systematically harness biological processes for practical applications. This era witnessed the convergence of scientific discovery and industrial innovation, laying the foundation for modern biotechnology.

From the early understanding of fermentation and microbiology to the development of antibiotics and industrial-scale bioprocessing, these 145 years marked humanity’s transition from accidental biological discoveries to deliberate manipulation of living systems.

This chronology traces the key milestones that shaped our understanding and application of biological principles, documenting how pioneering scientists and entrepreneurs transformed laboratory observations into technologies that would revolutionize medicine, agriculture, and industry.

A Chronology Of Biotechnology’s Classical Era

The classical era of biotechnology began with empirical observations of fermentation and evolved into sophisticated understanding of cellular processes, genetics, and biochemistry. This period established the scientific principles and industrial practices that would define biotechnology as both a scientific discipline and an economic force, culminating in the mass production of antibiotics during World War II that demonstrated the life-saving potential of biological manufacturing at scale.

  • 1800 – Franz Karl Achard establishes the first beet sugar factory in Silesia, pioneering industrial-scale extraction of biological products [1]
  • 1810 – Nicolas Appert publishes “L’Art de conserver” describing food preservation through heat treatment, establishing early biopreservation techniques [2]
  • 1815 – Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac patents improvements to Appert’s preservation method, advancing industrial food biotechnology [3]
  • 1833 – Anselme Payen and Jean-François Persoz isolate diastase (amylase) from malt, the first enzyme discovery [4]
  • 1835 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour observes yeast cells budding under microscope, linking microorganisms to fermentation [5]
  • 1837 – Theodor Schwann independently demonstrates that yeast causes alcoholic fermentation [6]
  • 1838 – Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann propose cell theory, fundamental to understanding biological processes [7]
  • 1840 – Justus von Liebig publishes “Organic Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology,” establishing agricultural chemistry [8]
  • 1843 – John Bennet Lawes patents superphosphate fertilizer production, industrializing agricultural biotechnology [9]
  • 1850 – Casimir Davaine observes rod-shaped bacteria in blood of animals with anthrax [10]
  • 1854 – Louis Pasteur begins studying fermentation in Lille, France [11]
  • 1857 – Louis Pasteur demonstrates that lactic acid fermentation is caused by living organisms [12]
  • 1859 – Charles Darwin publishes “On the Origin of Species,” providing theoretical framework for biological variation [13]
  • 1860 – Louis Pasteur disproves spontaneous generation with swan-neck flask experiments [14]
  • 1862 – Louis Pasteur patents pasteurization process for wine preservation [15]
  • 1864 – Louis Pasteur saves French silk industry by identifying pébrine disease in silkworms [16]
  • 1865 – Gregor Mendel presents his laws of inheritance based on pea plant experiments [17]
  • 1866 – Ernst Haeckel coins the term “ecology,” establishing environmental biotechnology concepts [18]
  • 1869 – Friedrich Miescher isolates “nuclein” (DNA) from white blood cell nuclei [19]
  • 1872 – Ferdinand Cohn publishes first classification system for bacteria [20]
  • 1876 – Robert Koch proves that Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax, establishing germ theory [21]
  • 1877 – Wilhelm Kühne coins the term “enzyme” for biological catalysts [22]
  • 1878 – Joseph Lister publishes on lactic acid fermentation by pure bacterial cultures [23]
  • 1879 – Louis Pasteur discovers attenuation principle while working with chicken cholera [24]
  • 1881 – Robert Koch introduces solid media (gelatin plates) for bacterial culture [25]
  • 1882 – Robert Koch discovers Mycobacterium tuberculosis using new staining techniques [26]
  • 1883 – Emil Christian Hansen isolates pure yeast culture at Carlsberg brewery [27]
  • 1884 – Robert Koch formulates Koch’s postulates for proving disease causation [28]
  • 1885 – Louis Pasteur administers first rabies vaccine to Joseph Meister [29]
  • 1886 – Ernst von Bergmann introduces steam sterilization in surgery [30]
  • 1887 – Petri dish invented by Julius Richard Petri, revolutionizing microbial culture [31]
  • 1888 – Emile Roux and Alexandre Yersin discover diphtheria toxin [32]
  • 1890 – Emil von Behring and Shibasaburo Kitasato develop diphtheria antitoxin, first therapeutic serum [33]
  • 1892 – Dmitri Ivanovsky discovers tobacco mosaic virus, first evidence of viruses [34]
  • 1894 – Emil Fischer proposes “lock and key” model of enzyme action [35]
  • 1896 – Martinus Beijerinck develops enrichment culture technique for isolating microorganisms [36]
  • 1897 – Eduard Buchner demonstrates cell-free fermentation with yeast extract [37]
  • 1898 – Martinus Beijerinck confirms viral nature of tobacco mosaic disease [38]
  • 1900 – Karl Landsteiner discovers human blood groups, enabling transfusions [39]
  • 1901 – Jokichi Takamine isolates and crystallizes adrenaline, first hormone isolated [40]
  • 1905 – William Bateson coins the term “genetics” [41]
  • 1906 – Paul Ehrlich proposes “magic bullet” concept for targeted therapy [42]
  • 1908 – Godfrey Harold Hardy and Wilhelm Weinberg independently formulate population genetics principle [43]
  • 1909 – Wilhelm Johannsen introduces terms “gene,” “genotype,” and “phenotype” [44]
  • 1910 – Paul Ehrlich develops Salvarsan (arsphenamine) for syphilis treatment [45]
  • 1912 – Casimir Funk coins term “vitamine” for essential nutrients [46]
  • 1914 – Chaim Weizmann develops acetone-butanol fermentation for wartime explosives [47]
  • 1915 – Frederick Twort discovers bacteriophages independently of Félix d’Hérelle [48]
  • 1917 – Félix d’Hérelle names bacteriophages and proposes phage therapy [49]
  • 1919 – Karl Ereky coins the term “biotechnology” in his book [50]
  • 1920 – Industrial production of citric acid by Aspergillus niger begins [51]
  • 1921 – Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolate insulin from dog pancreas [52]
  • 1922 – First diabetic patient treated with insulin at Toronto General Hospital [53]
  • 1923 – Georg de Hevesy develops radioactive tracer technique [54]
  • 1925 – Theodor Svedberg invents ultracentrifuge for protein separation [55]
  • 1926 – James Sumner crystallizes urease enzyme, proving enzymes are proteins [56]
  • 1928 – Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin’s antibacterial properties [57]
  • 1929 – Phoebus Levene identifies components of DNA including four bases [58]
  • 1930 – Max Theiler develops yellow fever vaccine using attenuated virus [59]
  • 1931 – Ernst Ruska builds first electron microscope, enabling virus visualization [60]
  • 1932 – Gerhard Domagk discovers Prontosil, first sulfonamide antibiotic [61]
  • 1933 – Tadeus Reichstein synthesizes vitamin C (ascorbic acid) industrially [62]
  • 1935 – Wendell Stanley crystallizes tobacco mosaic virus [63]
  • 1936 – Corneille Heymans discovers role of sinus and aortic mechanisms in respiration [64]
  • 1937 – Max Delbrück and Emory Ellis establish quantitative phage biology [65]
  • 1938 – Warren Weaver coins term “molecular biology” in Rockefeller Foundation report [66]
  • 1940 – Howard Florey and Ernst Chain develop penicillin for clinical use [67]
  • 1941 – George Beadle and Edward Tatum propose “one gene-one enzyme” hypothesis [68]
  • 1942 – First commercial penicillin production begins in United States [69]
  • 1943 – Selman Waksman’s team discovers streptomycin from soil bacteria [70]
  • 1944 – Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty prove DNA carries genetic information [71]
  • 1945 – Mass production of penicillin saves thousands of lives in World War II [72]

Final Thoughts

The classical era of biotechnology transformed humanity’s relationship with the biological world, evolving from empirical observations to sophisticated scientific understanding and industrial application. This period established the fundamental principles of microbiology, biochemistry, and genetics while demonstrating the practical potential of biological systems in medicine, agriculture, and industry.

The culmination of this era with the mass production of antibiotics during World War II not only saved countless lives, but also proved that biological manufacturing could operate at industrial scales. These achievements laid the groundwork for the molecular biology revolution that would follow, setting the stage for genetic engineering, monoclonal antibodies, and the modern biotechnology industry.

The pioneers of this classical era showed us that living systems could be understood, controlled, and harnessed for human benefit, establishing biotechnology as one of the defining technologies of the modern world.

Thanks for reading!

References

[1] The History of Sugar – European Sugar History – https://www.sucrose.com/lhist.html

[2] The Art of Preserving Food – Nicolas Appert – https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/nicolas-appert-the-father-of-canning/

[3] Gay-Lussac and Food Preservation – https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/gay-lussac-and-food-preservation/3007720.article

[4] Payen and Persoz Diastase Discovery – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1260026/

[5] Cagniard de la Tour Yeast Observations – https://www.pasteurbrewing.com/charles-cagniard-de-la-tour-french-engineer-and-physicist/

[6] Schwann and Fermentation – https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodor-Schwann

[7] Cell Theory Development – https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/discovery-of-cells-and-the-development-of-14015929/

[8] Liebig’s Agricultural Chemistry – https://www.jstor.org/stable/1293298

[9] Lawes and Superphosphate – https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/history-and-heritage/john-bennet-lawes

[10] Davaine and Anthrax – https://www.antimicrobe.org/h04c.files/history/Davaine.asp

[11] Pasteur in Lille – https://www.pasteur.fr/en/institut-pasteur/history/louis-pasteur/louis-pasteur-s-biography

[12] Pasteur’s Fermentation Studies – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC275284/

[13] Darwin’s Origin of Species – https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/commentary/life-sciences/origin-species

[14] Pasteur’s Swan Neck Experiments – https://www.pasteur.fr/en/musee-pasteur/scientific-memory/swan-neck-flasks

[15] Pasteur’s Wine Preservation Patent – https://patents.google.com/patent/US135245A/en

[16] Pasteur and Silk Industry – https://www.pasteur.fr/en/institut-pasteur/history/louis-pasteur/silkworm-diseases

[17] Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance – https://www.nature.com/articles/hdy200062

[18] Haeckel Coins Ecology – https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ernst-Haeckel

[19] Miescher Discovers Nuclein – https://www.genome.gov/25520232/online-education-kit-1869-dna-first-isolated

[20] Cohn’s Bacterial Classification – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2807627/

[21] Koch Proves Anthrax Causation – https://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/basics/history.html

[22] Kühne Names Enzymes – https://www.febs.org/news/news-archive/wilhelm-kuhne-and-the-term-enzyme/

[23] Lister’s Fermentation Work – https://wellcomecollection.org/works/xn8mv5sa

[24] Pasteur’s Attenuation Discovery – https://www.pasteur.fr/en/institut-pasteur/history/louis-pasteur/first-vaccines

[25] Koch’s Solid Media – https://www.asm.org/Articles/2020/July/Koch-s-Postulates-Then-and-Now

[26] Koch Discovers TB Bacterium – https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-discovery-of-mycobacterium-tuberculosis

[27] Hansen’s Pure Yeast Culture – https://www.carlsberggroup.com/who-we-are/about-the-carlsberg-group/history/emil-chr-hansen/

[28] Koch’s Postulates – https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson1/section10.html

[29] Pasteur’s Rabies Vaccine – https://www.pasteur.fr/en/institut-pasteur/history/louis-pasteur/rabies-vaccine

[30] Bergmann’s Steam Sterilization – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1318673/

[31] Petri Dish Invention – https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/the-petri-dish

[32] Diphtheria Toxin Discovery – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2589199/

[33] Diphtheria Antitoxin Development – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1901/behring/facts/

[34] Ivanovsky Discovers Viruses – https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-66-2-119

[35] Fischer’s Lock and Key Model – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1902/fischer/biographical/

[36] Beijerinck’s Enrichment Culture – https://www.asm.org/Articles/2019/March/Martinus-Beijerinck

[37] Buchner’s Cell-Free Fermentation – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1907/buchner/facts/

[38] Beijerinck Confirms Virus Nature – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2750777/

[39] Landsteiner’s Blood Groups – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1930/landsteiner/facts/

[40] Takamine Isolates Adrenaline – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1718885/

[41] Bateson Coins Genetics – https://www.genetics.org/content/160/1/1

[42] Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2304494/

[43] Hardy-Weinberg Principle – https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/the-hardy-weinberg-principle-13235724/

[44] Johannsen’s Genetic Terms – https://www.genetics.org/content/196/2/291

[45] Ehrlich Develops Salvarsan – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1908/ehrlich/biographical/

[46] Funk Coins Vitamine – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3309643/

[47] Weizmann’s Acetone Production – https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt0302-237

[48] Twort Discovers Bacteriophages – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2172990/

[49] d’Hérelle Names Bacteriophages – https://www.pasteur.fr/en/research-journal/news/felix-d-herelle-nomination-nobel-prize-never-came

[50] Ereky Coins Biotechnology – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3339421/

[51] Citric Acid Industrial Production – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC172910/

[52] Banting and Best Isolate Insulin – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1923/banting/facts/

[53] First Insulin Treatment – https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news_landing_page/first-use-of-insulin-in-treatment-of-diabetes-88-years-ago-today

[54] Hevesy’s Radioactive Tracers – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1943/hevesy/facts/

[55] Svedberg’s Ultracentrifuge – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1926/svedberg/facts/

[56] Sumner Crystallizes Urease – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1946/sumner/facts/

[57] Fleming Discovers Penicillin – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2048009/

[58] Levene Identifies DNA Components – https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/vv/feature/dna

[59] Theiler’s Yellow Fever Vaccine – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1951/theiler/facts/

[60] Ruska’s Electron Microscope – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1986/ruska/facts/

[61] Domagk Discovers Prontosil – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1939/domagk/facts/

[62] Reichstein Synthesizes Vitamin C – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1950/reichstein/facts/

[63] Stanley Crystallizes TMV – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1946/stanley/facts/

[64] Heymans’ Respiratory Discoveries – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1938/heymans/facts/

[65] Delbrück’s Phage Biology – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1969/delbruck/facts/

[66] Weaver Coins Molecular Biology – https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/mm/feature/molecular

[67] Florey and Chain Develop Penicillin – https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/howard-walter-florey-and-ernst-boris-chain

[68] One Gene-One Enzyme Hypothesis – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1958/beadle/facts/

[69] Commercial Penicillin Production – https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/penicillin.html

[70] Waksman Discovers Streptomycin – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1952/waksman/facts/

[71] DNA as Genetic Material – https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/cc/feature/dna[72] Penicillin in WWII – https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-penicillin-production-was-ramped-up-during-world-war-ii