Kristaps Helmanis (german: Christopher Hellmann, russian: Христофор Иванович Гельман; 3 June 1848 – 2 March 1892) was a Latvian

vaccinologist A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

and

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

. He discovered tuberculin simultaneously with

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the Vibrio ...

and

mallein The mallein test is a sensitive and specific clinical test for glanders, a common bacterial disease of equids (horses, donkeys, mules). This test is an allergic hypersensitivity test used as a diagnosis for glanders. It is caused by a bacterium cal ...

together with

Oto Kalniņš Oto, Ōtō, or OTO may refer to: People *Oto (name), including a list of people with the name *The Otoe tribe (also spelled Oto), a Native American people Places *Oto, Spain, a village in the Valle de Broto, in Huesca, Aragon * Otorohanga, a tow ...

(1891).

Biography

Letter of Louis Pasteur to Kristaps Helmanis 1887

Helmanis was born on 3 June 1848 in Tērvete (then ''Hofzumberge'',

Courland Governorate The Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland (german: Kurländisches Gouvernement; russian: Курля́ндская губерния, translit=Kurljándskaja gubernija; lv, Kurzemes guberņa; lt, K ...

), received education at the parish school and Jelgava Real School (''Jelgavas reālskola''). He studied veterinary medicine at the

Dorpat Veterinary Institute Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

(''Kaiserliche Veterinair-Institut zu Dorpat'', 1873—1877) and received a gold medal for his work “On Development of Spermatozoids of Vertebrates”. After graduation he stayed at the institute for a degree of master of science he received in 1879. Then Helmanis relocated to the capital of Russian Empire

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, where he started to work as a veterinary of the guard cavalry regiment. There he organised a laboratory by the dispensary and started to study clinical symptoms of glanders in horses and laboratory animals. When

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

created a vaccine against rabies in 1886, Kristaps Helmanis devoted himself to research of rabies in St Petersburg and reported his results to the Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg, who supported his studies. Kristaps Helmanis himself paid a visit to Paris. Louis Pasteur sent two collaborators to St Petersburg in order to create a station, and the second Pasteur station in the Russian Empire administered by Helmanis was founded. At the Pasteur station he not only vaccinated bitten patients, but also tried to create diagnostic serums for tuberculosis,

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

, smallpox and

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

. He obtained diagnostic test for tuberculosis and informed Louis Pasteur about his discovery. On the same time Robert Koch at the Tenth International Medical Congress held 1890 in Berlin unexpectedly introduced a cure for tuberculosis, which he called tuberculin. In 1890 Kristaps Helmanis left the army service and joined newly founded Institute of Experimental Medicine in St Petersburg as the head of the division of epizootology. He was successful to obtain microbial extract of glanders called mallein.Гельман Христофор Иванович
Great Soviet Encyclopedia Unfortunately several of Helmanis’ collaborators and colleagues

Alfrēds Bertušs Alfrēds is a masculine Latvian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Alfrēds Andersons (1879–1937), Latvian civil engineer, intellectual, pedagogue, educational worker and mayor *Alfrēds Hartmanis (1881–1927), Latvian chess play ...

(1849—1890),

Roberts Vāgners Roberts may refer to: People * Roberts (given name), a Latvian masculine given name * Roberts (surname), a popular surname, especially among the Welsh Places * Roberts (crater), a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon ;United Stat ...

(1861—1890) and

(1856—1891) became infected and died from this disease. On 10 March 1892 Helmanis married Estonian singer Emmelin Strandman, but soon after he died from the brain tumour. He was buried in cemetery of Tērvete.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmanis, Kristaps 1848 births 1892 deaths People from Tērvete Municipality People from Courland Governorate Latvian biologists Vaccinologists