Friedrich Neufeld

Fred Neufeld

Friedrich Neufeld (1869 - 1945) German physician and bacteriologist, who discovered the various pneumococcal types. In 1900, Neufeld found out the bile solubility of pneumococci. Later using immunological techniques he classified the pneumococci into three types, based on the fact that the bacteria would swell in the presence of the specific anti-sera, which he called the Quellung reaction (from the German for swelling). Neufeld was also a gifted pianist, and he never married and lived with his mother throughout his life. Neufeld is supposed to have died in war torn Berlin in 1945 from Entkraftung (exhaustion).