Sternberg, George Miller [key], 1838–1915, American bacteriologist and surgeon-general of the U.S. army, b. Hartwick, N.Y., M.D. Columbia, 1860. He was assistant surgeon in the U.S. army during the Civil War, was breveted for bravery in the Civil War and the Nez Percé conflict, and became surgeon-general in 1893. Regarded as the founder of American bacteriology, he did pioneering work in the field, discovering that streptococcus caused pneumonia and confirming the causes of malaria and other diseases. He also did valuable work in the control of infectious diseases and founded the Army Medical School. Among his works are Textbook of Bacteriology (1895) and Infection and Immunity (1903).
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