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Johannes Fibiger
Physician

Johannes Fibiger

Famoose for

Receiving a Nobel Prize for cancer research whose central conclusion was later rejected.

Spiroptera research · Diphtheria study

Born
23 April 1867
Birthplace
Silkeborg
Died
30 January 1928

More people

Florence NightingaleHelping establish modern professional nursing.Alexander FlemingDiscovering penicillin’s antibacterial effect.Edward JennerDeveloping smallpox vaccination using material from cowpox.

Johannes Fibiger

Johannes Fibiger was a Danish pathologist. His work includes an early controlled diphtheria study and a celebrated but mistaken claim about parasites causing cancer.

Early life

Copenhagen

Moved there after his father’s death and earned his medical degree in 1890.

Career

  1. 1907

    Rat studies

    Investigated worms found in rats.

  2. 1913

    Cancer claim

    Reported experimental results he interpreted as cancer induction.

  3. 1927

    Nobel presentation

    Received the award designated for 1926.

Selected work

Spiroptera research

Honoured work later shown to rest on mistaken interpretation.

Diphtheria study

Contributed to the development of controlled trials.

Beyond work

Scientific reassessment

Later work showed that his reported lesions did not demonstrate the claimed cause of cancer.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical data and references ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author. CC BY 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.