Alfred Theodore MacConkey
Encyclopedia
Alfred Theodore MacConkey (1861-1931) was the British bacteriologist who developed MacConkey's agar, a selective medium that is used in the diagnosis of enteric pathogens.
MacConkey, the son of a West Derby minister, studied medicine at Cambridge
and Guy's Hospital
. He initially went into private practice at Beckenham, Kent, but decided to specialize in bacteriology, joining the bacteriology
department at Guy's Hospital in 1897. He became an assistant bacteriologist serving the Royal Commission on Sewage Disposal in Liverpool, where he developed the culture medium which bears his name, and later transferred to the Lister Institute. He retired in 1926 and died in 1931 at Brindley Heath, Surrey.
MacConkey, the son of a West Derby minister, studied medicine at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
. He initially went into private practice at Beckenham, Kent, but decided to specialize in bacteriology, joining the bacteriology
Bacteriology
Bacteriology is the study of bacteria. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species...
department at Guy's Hospital in 1897. He became an assistant bacteriologist serving the Royal Commission on Sewage Disposal in Liverpool, where he developed the culture medium which bears his name, and later transferred to the Lister Institute. He retired in 1926 and died in 1931 at Brindley Heath, Surrey.