Kitasato Shibasaburo

Kitasato Shibasaburo was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist who made significant contributions to the fields of immunology, microbiology, and public health. He was the first person to grow the tetanus bacillus in pure culture and to produce an antitoxin for tetanus and diphtheria. He also discovered the causative agent of bubonic plague in Hong Kong in 1894, almost simultaneously with Alexandre Yersin. He founded the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo in 1891, which later became the Kitasato Institute, a leading research center for infectious diseases and immunology. He also established the Kitasato University in 1918, which is still a prominent institution for medical education and research. He was honored with the Order of Culture, the highest award for cultural merit in Japan, and was ennobled as a baron in 1924. He died of pneumonia in 1931 at the age of 78.