In 1935 the Society of American Bacteriologists (now the American Society for Microbiology or ASM) began publishing a newsletter, which was designed to convey to members information of interest about Society affairs. Occasional feature items were also included in the early issues, but it was in 1972 that a decision was made to offer a non-member subscription rate and to make the (now monthly) publication more attractive to non-members by expanding both the feature and book review sections. Since then, ASM News (renamed MICROBE in 2006) has included numerous articles of historical interest. See below for links to recent articles. To access older articles, contact the Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) at archives@asmusa.org.
(Listed by Date of Publication)
June 2014:
The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives Committee presents a biography of the first woman president of the SAB/ASM.
November 2012:
ARTHUR T. HENRICI, AN UNSUNG HERO OF MICROBIOLOGY (by Martin Dworkin)
An energetic explorer of many enthusiasms, Henrici stuck with microbiology and made diverse and important contributions to the science
July 2011 (p. 319-23):
HERBERT CONN: MARK TWAIN’S MICROBIOLOGIST MUSE (by Kenneth M. Noll)
A 1905 Twain story features an imaginary world containing human-like societies of microbes, noteworthy for their industriousness.
May 2011 (p. 221-25):
TMV IN 1930: FRANCIS O. HOLMES AND THE LOCAL LESION ASSAY (by Karen-Beth G. Scholthof)
Holmes' development of a quantitative viral assay enabled him to identify the cause of tobacco mosaic disease and led to many additional insights
2005
March 2005 (p. 108-09):
Recognizing that systematics should not be totally inflexible, Ferdinand Cohn would have little patience with modern arguments over the significance of bacterial species.
February 2005 (p. 65-70):
WHAT A REVELATION ANY SCIENCE IS! (by Lynn Margulis and Betsy Palmer Eldridge)
Sensitive to the environment in which diseases occur, Howard T. Ricketts was one of the first great microbial ecologists.
2001
November 2001 (p. 555-59):
I'll Have the Chopped Liver Please, or How I Learned to Love the Clone (by Stanley Falkow)
A recollection of some of the events surrounding one of the pivotal experiments that opened the era of DNA cloning.
2000
November 2000 (p. 663-67):
Personal Reflections on Cholera: The Impact of Serendipity (by Richard A. Finklestein)
Cholera toxin was discovered in 1959; since then hypothesis-driven research—and serendipity—has yielded many insights.
August 2000 (p. 459-62):
In Love with my Job (by Amy Cheng Vollmer)
This personal reflection is one of several dozen presented in Many Faces--Many Microbes.
March 2000 (p. 137-41):
From the Clinical to the Research Laboratory: A Reminiscence (by Herman Friedman)
This microbiologist encountered several problems in a clinical setting and pursued them as research challenges.
1999
August 1999 (p. 547-53):
Ferdinand Cohn, A Founder of Modern Microbiology (by Gerhart Drews)
Cohn described several key physiological processes in microorganisms and developed principles leading to modern taxonomy.
p. 290-295
A Closer Look at the Language of Microbiology. (by James E. Riggs, Laura A. Blinderman, and Charles S. Blinderman)
1998
December 1998 (p. 688-92):
Christiaan Eijkman: Early Nobel Winner for Beriberi Research (by Jan Verhoef)
Although searching for an infectious agent, this bacteriologist linked beriberi with dietary deficiency.
1997
p. 13-21, 1997:
Peter Mitchell and His Chemiosmotic Theories (by Milton H. Saier, Jr.)
Ridiculed at first, Mitchell's ideas about proton motive force proved to be visionary.
1996
p. 539-543, 1996:
Martinus Willem Beijerinck (1851-1931) (by King-Thom Chung and Deam Hunter Ferris)
p. 307-10, 1996:
Metchnikoff and Syphilis Research During a Decade of Discovery, 1900-1910 (by Richard M. Krause)
1995
p. 575-79, 1995:
Pasteur: High Priest of Microbiology (by Robert Krasner)
p. 17-20, 1995:
William Hayes: Pioneering Contributions Remembered (by Simon Silver, et al)
1993
p. 555-58, 1993:
My Life and Hard Times with the Anaerobes (by Sydney M. Finegold)
1992
p. 425-28, 1992:
Walther and Angelina Hesse – Early Contributors to Bacteriology (by Wolfgang Hesse)
p. 145-47, 1992:
Ludwik Hirszfeld’s Role in Polish Microbiology (by Mary Rolicka)
1988
p. 661-65, 1988:
Elie Metchnikoff’s Bacillus of Long Life (by Debra Jan Bibel)
p. 182-85, 1988:
The Discovery of Microorganisms by Robert Hooke (by David Bardell)
1987
p. 551-55, 1987:
Genetics at the Institut Pasteur: Substance and Style (by Jon Beckwith)
p. 366-69, 1987:
Waldemar Haffkine: Pioneer of Cholera Vaccine (by Edythe Lutzker and Carol Jochnowitz)
February 1987 (p. 75-77):
1985
p. 328-33, 1987:
William Bulloch’s Pioneer Women of Microbiology (by Debra Jan Bibel)
1984
p. 577-80, 1984:
Theobald Smith, 1859-1934: A Fiftieth Anniversary Tribute (by Claude Dolman)
1983
p. 320-22, 1983:
Plasmids, Pasteur and Anthrax (by Perry Mikesell, et al)
1982
p. 558-60, 1982:
Centennial of the Rise of Cellular Immunology: Metchnikoff’s Discovery at Messina (by Debra Jan Bibel)
p. 538-39, 1982:
C. B. van Niel’s 85th Birthday (by H. A. Barker)
p. 518-19, 1982:
Nathaniel Highmore’s Microscopic Observations in 1651 (by D. Bardell)
p. 346-48, 1982:
Felix d’Herelle: His Life and Work and the Foundation of a Bacteriophage Reference Center (by Hans W. Ackermann, et al)
p. 297-302, 1982:
Friedrich Loeffler and His History of Bacteriology (by D. H. Howard)
p. 271-72, 1982:
100th Birthday Tribute to Paul F. Clark (by W. S. Jeter)
p. 248-50, 1982:
1981
p. 330-31, 1981:
p.231-35, 1981:
p.44-49, 1981:
1979
p. 194-96, 1979:
p. 77-83, 1979:
Stuart Mudd: A Microbiologist to Remember (by J. R. Porter) (article not available online; contact ASM Archivist to request a copy)
1978
p. 157-59, 1978:
1977
p. 298-99, 1977:
1976
p. 531-35, 1976:
p. 193-198, 1976:
A Triad of Centennials (by Raymond N. Doetsch) (article not available online; contact ASM Archivist to request a copy)
Re: Leeuwenhoek, Spallanzani, Koch; Includes notes from ambassadors from Netherlands, Italy, Germany and France
1975
p. 805-810, 1975:
February 1975 (p.85-91):
1974
p. 703-09, 1974:
p.265-68, 1974:
1973
September 1973 (p. 573-78):
For questions, additional information, or for articles not available online, please contact the ASM Archivist
(List by Date of Publication)
2014
May 2014:
Past Soviet secrecy when linked with a promise by Putin raise nagging questions about Russian BW-related intentions.
February 2014:
Bacteriology was taught at Howard Medical School beginning in 1892, given departmental status in 1910, and broadened to microbiology in 1958.
2013
May 2013:
Charles-Edward Amory Winslow, of Yale University and President of the Society of American Bacteriologists (SAB), presented his Presidential Lecture at the 1913 General Meeting in Montreal. The title of his talk was “The Characterization and Classifıcation of Bacterial Types.”
March 2013:
A growing interest in microbiology led to a distinctive surge in American books on general bacteriology published during the late 19th Century.
2012
December 2012:
A Quarter-Century of Indo-U.S. Vaccine Research Collaboration (by Edward McSweegan)
Working through informal channels 25 years ago, officials built a bilateral vaccine program that continues to support solid research in this field.
December 2011:
Historical Use of Cover Slips for Staining Bacterial Specimens (by James A. Poupard and Jeff Karr)
Early American bacteriologists persisted in using a cumbersome method, reluctant to break ranks with their European counterparts.
To access older articles, contact the Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) at jkarr@asmusa.org
March 2014:
The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) is pleased to announce that the 2013 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award has been awarded to Sharon Bertsch McGrayne.
January 2014:
The Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, site of Herbert William Conn’s research laboratory at the Connecticut Agricultural College (later the University of Connecticut, Storrs) has been named a Milestones in Microbiology site by ASM.
January 2014:
Since 1982, the historical collections that constitute the Center for the History of Microbiology/ ASM Archives (CHOMA) have been housed in the Albin O. Kuhn Library on the campus of the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). On 30 September, an event was held in the Library to celebrate the renewal for a period of 10 years of the agreement governing this relationship between ASM and UMBC.
October 2013:
MBL Microbial Diversity Course Designated as “Milestones in Microbiology” Site
The Microbial Diversity Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, was offıcially named a Milestones in Microbiology site by the ASM on Saturday, 22 June 2013, in recognition of its many educational and research contributions to the science of microbiology.
May 2013:
Charles-Edward Amory Winslow, of Yale University and President of the Society of American Bacteriologists (SAB), presented his Presidential Lecture at the 1913 General Meeting in Montreal. The title of his talk was “The Characterization and Classifıcation of Bacterial Types.”
Author: James A. Poupard (Committee Chair, Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives
March 2013:
A growing interest in microbiology led to a distinctive surge in American books on general bacteriology published during the late 19th Century.
Authors: James A. Poupard (Committee Chair) and Jeff Karr (Archivist), Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore
February 2013:
2012 History of Microbiology Research Travel Awards
The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) is pleased to announce the 2012 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award winners.
December 2012:
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Designated “Milestones in Microbiology” Site
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., has been named a Milestones in Microbiology site by ASM.
April 2012:
Writing and collecting Branch Histories
Authors: Michael Schmidt (Chair, Branch Organization Committee) and James A. Poupard (Chair, Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives)
December 2011:
Early American bacteriologists persisted in using a cumbersome method, reluctant to break ranks with their European counterparts
Authors: James A. Poupard (Committee Chair) and Jeff Karr (Archivist), Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore
August 2011:
The Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine has been designated as ASM's newest Milestone in Microbiology site.
August 2010:
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) was designated a "Milestones in Microbiology" site by ASM in a formal recognition ceremony Saturday, 22 May at Sumner Auditorium on the Scripps campus.
August 2009:
The newest of ASM's Milestones in Microbiology, the site of the former Laboratory of Hygiene at the University of Pennsylvania, was commemorated in a ceremony held before the ASM General Meeting in Philadelphia. The building itself was a sophisticated design built in 1892 specifically for the study of bacteriology and was the first of its kind in the United States. It was home to many early bacteriologists, including ASM founder Alexander C. Abbott and David H. Bergey, who worked on his famous Manual of Determinative Bacteriology here. ASM placed a commemorative plaque on the site, which now houses the modern Vagelos Laboratories.
August 2004:
Milestones in Microbiology Designation - Hopkins Marine Station
June 2002:
Milestones in Microbiology Designation - Rutgers
For additional information or resources, or to access articles not found on this site, contact the Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) at archives@asmusa.org