EHRLICH, PAUL German bacteriologist, was born in Silesia of Jewish parentage. He studied medicine and was early drawn to research on aniline dyes, at the same time winning distinction as a bacteriologist. In 5907 he discovered the dye, known as "trypan red," which, when injected into the blood of ani mals infected with trypanosomes effected the destruction of these organisms. This led him to try to treat other diseases by chemical injections and culminated in his famous discovery in connection with venereal diseases. It was announced in 1910 that he had pre pared an arsenical compound, known as salvarsan or "6o6," which was a cure for syphilis. The name was given because it was the 6o6th compound that he had tried for the purpose. Ehrlich also did important work on problems of immunity. In 1908 he shared with Metchnikov the Nobel prize for medicine.
See Paul Ehrlich: eine Darstellung seines wissenschaftlichen Wirkens (1914)•