title: Escherich and Escherichia.
abstract: The purpose of this essay is threefold: to give an outline of the life and the various achievements of Theodor Escherich, to provide a background to his discovery of what he called Bacterium coli commune (now Escherichia coli), and to indicate the enormous impact of studies with this organism, long before it became the cornerstone of research in bacteriology and in molecular biology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago IL 60637.
authors.forename: Herbert C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Friedmann