| Date | 1876 |
| Author | Koch |
| Contribution | d. Introduced the use of the white mouse as a laboratory animal. |
| Reference | Brock 1999 |
| Notes | Koch was not the first to use animals, including mice, for laboratory research. In his anthrax studies Koch used wild gray mice for experimental infections, but subsequently used tame white mice. Apparently this dates from 1876 or shortly thereafter. An elderly man who had befriended Koch's daughter Gertrud sent her pet white mice as a gift. When they multiplied, the progeny became Koch's lab animals. The story is told by Brock in a footnote. |
| Category | Miscellany |
| Pathogen Class | General |
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