Stamen Gigov Grigorov ( bg, Стамен Гигов Григоров; 27 October 1878 – 27 October 1945) was a prominent

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

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 the ''

Lactobacillus bulgaricus ''Lactobacillus delbrueckii'' subsp. ''bulgaricus'' (until 2014 known as ''Lactobacillus bulgaricus'') is one of over 200 published species in the ''Lactobacillus'' genome complex (LGC) and is the main bacterium used for the production of yogurt. ...

'' bacillus, used in the making of

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...

Life

Stamen Grigorov was born in the village of (lit. "Cold Spring"), ,

Pernik Province Pernik Province is a province in western Bulgaria, neighbouring Serbia. Its main city is Pernik, and other municipalities are Breznik, Kovachevtsi, Radomir, Tran, and Zemen. Population Pernik province had a population of 133,750 according ...

, Bulgaria. He completed his secondary education in natural sciences in Montpellier, France and medical science in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1905, at the age of 27, Grigorov made the discovery for which he is best known. In the microbiological laboratory of Professor Léon Massol in Geneva, he discovered that a certain strain of bacillus is the basis of

. In recognition the strain was called by the scientific community ''

''. In the 1950s, the state-owned yogurt company patented and promoted a specific blend of bacterial strains to create an "official Bulgarian yoghurt". This blend continues to be exported to yogurt producers in many countries. Apart from the discovery of ''Lactobacillus bulgaricus'', Grigorov contributed to the creation of a

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

treatment in 1906, along with

Albert Calmette Léon Charles Albert Calmette ForMemRS (12 July 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French physician, bacteriologist and immunologist, and an important officer of the Pasteur Institute. He discovered the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, an attenuated for ...

. This used

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

for the treatment of

. Through his scientific experiments ''in-vitro'' and ''in-vivo'' on lab animals and later on human patients, Grigorov demonstrated the healing effect of penicillin fungi in the treatment of

. Grigorov died on 27 October 1945, his 67th birthday.

Legacy

Grigorov Glacier on

Brabant Island Brabant Island is the second largest island of the Palmer Archipelago within the British Antarctic Territory, lying between Anvers Island and Liège Island. Brabant Island is long north-south, wide, and rises to in Mount Parry. The interior ...

Palmer Archipelago Palmer Archipelago, also known as Antarctic Archipelago, Archipiélago Palmer, Antarktiske Arkipel or Palmer Inseln, is a group of islands off the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It extends from Tower Island in the north to Anvers ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

is named after Stamen Grigorov. On 27 October 2020, Stamen was honoured by Google as the

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

of the day.

Life

Legacy

References

Further reading