Agostino Bassi.

Agostino Bassi , sometimes de Lodi, (born September 25, 1773, near Lodi, Lombardy; died February 8, 1856, in Lodi) was an Italian entomologist. September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years). ... 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Lodi (pronounced LOH-die) is the name of several places and a dynasty in India: in the United States of America: Lodi, California Lodi, New Jersey Lodi (village), New York Lodi (town), New York Lodi, Ohio Lodi, New Jersey Lodi, Wisconsin Lodi (town), Wisconsin Lodi Township, Michigan Lodi Township, Minnesota... Lombardy (in Italian Lombardia) is a region in northern Italy between the Alps and the Po Valley. ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Entomology is the scientific study of insects. ...

Bassi apparently preceded Louis Pasteur in the discovery that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases. Louis Pasteur (December 27, 1822 – September 28, 1895) was a French microbiologist and chemist. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ...

In 1835, he discovered the parasite responsible for the muscardine disease of silkworms. It was named Beauveria bassiana in his honor. A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of that host. ... Binomial name Bombyx mori Linnaeus, 1758 The silkworm (Bombyx mori, Latin: silkworm of the mulberry tree) is the larva of a moth that is very important economically as the producer of silk. ... Binomial name Beauvaria bassiana (Bals. ...

In 1844, he stated the idea that not only animal (insect), but also human diseases are caused by other living organisms, for example, measles, syphilis, and the plague. Depression-era U.S. poster advocating early syphilis treatment Syphilis (historically called lues) is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by a spirochaete bacterium, Treponema pallidum. ... Plague is usually understood as a generic term for Bubonic plague, the mortal disease caused by the bacillus Yersinia pestis, which is spread by fleas from rats to human beings. ...