Life of Elie Metchnikoff, 1845-1916

If in this sad last chapter I occasionally dwell on details which may seem insignificant in themselves, it is because, at this supreme moment of Elie Metchnikoff's existence, ev...

It was only in the house of his friends the B.'s that Elie felt at his ease. He was devotedly fond of their children, whom he used to take for walks on Sundays and to the theatr...

Elie still had his Licentiate thesis to prepare. In order to do so, he decided to spend two months in the island of Heligoland, of which the flora and fauna were very attractive...

Metchnikoff's health had suffered from the numerous emotions provoked by the struggle in defence of the phagocyte doctrine and also from a series of sad events. In 1893, sicknes...

Metchnikoff had always been able to congratulate himself on the cordial hospitality which he had found in France, and to the end of his life he remained deeply grateful for it.

Having decided to settle in France, we hastened to make ourselves acquainted with contemporary French literature, thinking to find in it a reflection of the soul and manners of...

For centuries the question of immunity has occupied the human mind because the prevention of disease has ever been one of the greatest preoccupations of Man. Savages had already...

On our return from Norka, we found everything on a war footing. The very next morning, Metchnikoff hurried to the laboratory. He only reached Paris with some difficulty, all mea...

Metchnikoff's anthropological researches led him to the study of childhood, which in its turn suggested reflections on questions of Pedagogy. His eyesight was still weak and his...

During his preceding journeys in the Kalmuk steppes, Metchnikoff had often heard it said that tuberculosis was almost unknown there, but that the Kalmuks took it very easily whe...

Metchnikoff at the age of thirty--Lecturing in Odessa University, from 1873 to 1882--Internal difficulties--Assassination of the Tsar, Alexander II.--Further troubles in the Uni...

Metchnikoff had scarcely recovered from all the emotions caused by his experiments on cholera, which he was still studying, when, in 1894, a work appeared by a well-known German...

At Messina, we settled in a suburb, the Ringo, on the quay of the Straits, in a small flat with a garden and a splendid view over the sea. We did not have much room, and the lab...

In 1908 Metchnikoff received the Nobel Prize, together with Ehrlich, for his researches on immunity. According to the statutes of that prize, the laureate is invited to give a l...

for he was sufficiently conscious to be aware of the events which were taking place in Russia. The murder of Alexander II. caused him to foresee a political reaction of the most...

During his stay abroad, Metchnikoff had successfully carried out several researches, and this allowed him to apply for a post of _docent_ at the new University of Odessa, which...

In 1856 Dmitri Ivanovitch took the boys to Kharkoff in order to make them enter the Lycée. They passed their entrance examination quite satisfactorily; Kolia was admitted into t...

As long as Metchnikoff was but a zoologist, the scientific atmosphere around him remained calm and serene. But everything changed suddenly when he entered the domain of patholog...

In Little Russia, in the steppe region of the province of Kharkoff, is situated the land of Panassovka, which belonged to the Metchnikoff family. It is now sold, it has passed i...

The drawback of the holidays consisted, for Metchnikoff, in coming away from his laboratory and in the impossibility of following his diet in a hotel or a boarding-house. We the...

Since Metchnikoff had conceived the idea that a considerable part was played in human life by the intestinal flora, his thoughts had centred around a study which he thought prof...

After the misfortune which had befallen him Metchnikoff placed his only hope in work, and the condition of his eyes was therefore for him a source of great preoccupation. He app...

In 1884, Metchnikoff's work was interrupted by the ill-health of my eldest sister and of myself; physicians considered that we had weak lungs and advised that we should spend th...

The Metchnikoff family made no show of family pride; one old aunt, however, was extremely proud of one of their ancestors, the Great "Spatar" (sword-bearer). The following is th...

The acute period of the struggle in defence of the phagocyte theory now seemed to have come to an end and Metchnikoff turned his thoughts towards a new field of ideas.

They were able to ascertain that certain microbes of the intestinal flora, such as the _bacillus coli_ and _Welch's bacillus_, produce poisons (phenol and indol) which are reabs...

In 1851, in the middle of the winter, the Metchnikoffs heard that Leo, their second son, was suffering from hip-disease, and the doctors advised that he should be taken away fro...

In 1850 the children were taken to the baths of Slaviansk. On a warm summer day the heavy "berlin" coach, drawn by six horses with a postilion, rolled along the high road, acros...

The two elder children, Ivan and Leo, were educated at Petersburg, whilst Katia, the only daughter, was brought up at home. Like all other girls of noble family, she was educate...

The results of Pasteur's antirabic inoculations were published in 1885. The Municipality of Odessa, desirous of founding a bacteriological station in that town, sent Dr. Gamaléi...

In 1887 we went to Vienna, where a Congress of Hygienists was held, in which, for the first time, bacteriologists took part. Metchnikoff thus had the opportunity of becoming acq...

In the spring of 1881, Metchnikoff having recovered from relapsing fever, we went to stay with my parents at Kieff and found my father dying. He entrusted Elie with the care of...

There was now no choice and he had to resign himself to the Kharkoff University. There is not much to relate about this period, which was but a fugitive episode in the course of...

On the preceding day, one who hardly knew my husband had come to ask him for information concerning his life, with the object of writing his biography. We were saying to each ot...

The problem of our intestinal flora is so vast and so difficult that it demands years of research. Numerous facts had already been accumulated by Science on this subject, but it...

The boys' life was still quite a childish one, made up chiefly of games and mischief. Kolia had been taught to read by the great-aunt; Ilia had learnt by himself, asking people...

During his later years at the Lycée, Elie had attended several courses at the Kharkoff University and had realised the inadequacy of the teaching and the impossibility of any pe...

In spite of his precocious vocation, Elie was in no wise indifferent to his surroundings. His mind was sensitive and impressionable and his affections deep and tender, especiall...

1875-1880. Metchnikoff at the age of 30--Lecturing in Odessa University, from 1873 to 1882--Internal difficulties-- Assassination of the Tsar, Alexander II.--Further troubles in...

1868-1873. Slight illness--Engagement to Mlle. Fédorovitch-- Marriage--Illness of the bride--Pecuniary difficulties --Spezzia--Montreux--Work in Petersburg University--The Rivie...

1867-1868. Petersburg--Baer Prize--Return home--Friendship with Cienkovsky--Odessa--Naturalists' Congress at Petersburg--Departure from Odessa--Zoological Lecturer's Chair at Pe...

1864-1866. Heligoland--Giessen Congress--Leuckart--Visit to Leo Metchnikoff at Geneva--Socialist gatherings-- Metchnikoff's discovery appropriated by Leuckart--Naples --Kovalevs...