Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch was a German physician. He is one of the founders of microbiology, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Early life
Koch was born on December 11, 1843 in Clausthal, which was then part of Prussia. He was one of thirteen childern born to a mining engineer and his wife. His father suggested that Koch learns the shoemaker’s trade, however that was not the road he wanted to follow.
Education
Robert Koch taught himself to read and write before entering the primary school in 1848. He t