Gerhard Domagk

German bacteriologist (1895-1964)

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Lived 1895–1964, aged 69Germany

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Wikipedia
68 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1895–1964
Aged 69
Awards
10
recognised works

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

He turned a dye into the first antibiotic you could buy — then tested it on his own daughter when infection threatened her life.

Biography

About

Gerhard Domagk was working as a pathologist at the University of Münster when IG Farben brought him to Elberfeld in 1927 to screen chemical compounds for therapeutic use. He tested a benzene derivative synthesised by Fritz Mietzsch and Joseph Klarer — an azo dye carrying a sulphonamide side chain — and found it killed Streptococcus pyogenes. In 1935 his daughter Hildegarde injured herself and developed a streptococcal infection; facing amputation, Domagk used the compound and cured her. The drug went to market as Prontosil, the first commercially available antibiotic. He was awarded the 1939 N…

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