Legends of allergology: Dietrich Kraft.

The term allergy was coined in 1906 by the Austrian scientist and paediatrician Clemens Freiherr von Pirquet, head of the Department of Paediatrics in Vienna from 1912 to 1929. His successor, Franz Hamburger, obliterated all references to Pirquet, especially the term allergy, creating a large gap in allergy research until the 1960s. The University of Vienna Dermatology and ENT departments performed skin prick tests and hyposensitizations well into the late 1970s, but no basic scientific research was done. Dietrich Kraft re-established allergy research in Austria on the basis of molecular biology. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.