Hans Christian Gram

Who was Hans Christian Gram?

Hans Christian Joachim Gram was a Danish bacteriologist. He was the son of Frederik Terkel Julius Gram, a professor of jurisprudence, and Louise Christiane Roulund.

Gram studied botany at the University of Copenhagen and was an assistant in botany to the zoologist Japetus Steenstrup. His study of plants introduced him to the fundamentals of pharmacology and the use of the microscope.

He entered medical school in 1878 and graduated in 1883. He travelled throughout Europe between 1878 and 1885. In Berlin, in 1884, he developed a method for distinguishing between two major classes of bacteria. This technique, the Gram stain, continues to be a standard procedure in medical microbiology.

In 1891, Gram became a lecturer in pharmacology, and later that year was appointed professor at the University of Copenhagen. In 1900 he resigned his chair in pharmacology to become professor of medicine.