Carl Julius Salomonsen (1847-1924) was a Danish physician, experimental pathologist, and parasitologist. After completing medical training at the University of Copenhagen in 1871, Salomonsen undertook bacteriological research while working as physician and in the pathology departments of several hospitals. His articles on the putrefaction of blood and on microbial influences on putrefaction were published by Pasteur and Koch. In Breslau with Cohnheim in 1878, he demonstrated the specificity of tuberculosis by aseptically introducing tuberculous material into the camera anterior bulbi of rabbits. During this period of travel, Salomonsen also met many important figures in bacteriology, including Weigert, Neisser, Koch, Ehrlich, and Pasteur.
In 1883 Salomonsen was appointed lecturer in medical bacteriology at Copenhagen. Two years later, in 1885, Salomonsen published Ledetraad i Bakteriologisk Teknik, an important textbook that was subsequently translated into English, French, and Spanish. In 1893, a decade after being named to the first post in medical bacteriology in Europe, Salomonsen was named professor of pathology at the University of Copenhagen.
In the course of his long and productive career, Salomonsen published studies of immunity, diphtheria, and anthrax, among other subjects. He early recognized the significance of serum therapy as both a practical aid to curing disease as well as a scientific tool. He established a small department for the production of antidiphtheric serum which soon required enlargement and improvement. At the turn of the century, Salomonsen became deeply involved in the construction of an independent serum institute, which was inaugurated in 1902 and brought under the control of the Ministry of Health. Salomonsen served as its director until 1909.
Salomonsen was elected to the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences in 1891.
Bibliography
Snorrason, E. "Salomonsen, Carl Julius." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 12, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. 87-89.
Created 27 January 2017
Last modified 13 February 2023