Robert Koch

About Robert Koch

Robert Koch, a German physician who lived from 1843 to 1910, remains a towering figure in medical history, ranking #612 in overall historical importance on the Pantheon project. His foundational work in microbiology led to the formalization of Koch's Postulates, which established the causal relationship between a specific microorganism and a specific disease. This achievement was crucial in the development of germ theory, directly leading to the discovery of the pathogens responsible for anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera, profoundly influencing modern medicine and public health.

In the context of 2025 internet attention, Koch occupies a position of approximate parity with his historical weight. His Wikipedia page accrued 221K annualized views, resulting in an Attention Gap score of about 1x, suggesting his modern visibility is roughly proportional to his historical influence. This stands in sharp contrast to contemporaries in medicine, like Florence Nightingale (#650 importance), who garners nearly seven times his annual views (1.5M views).

While his attention is stable, exhibiting a minimal -3.4% year-over-year change and even a slight positive momentum of +1% between Q1 and Q3 of 2025, the overall digital footprint reflects a figure known primarily within specialist academic circles rather than mainstream public consciousness.