In 1881, the organism, known later in 1886 as the pneumococcus for its role as a cause of pneumonia, was first isolated simultaneously and independently by the U.S. Army physician George Sternberg and the French chemist Louis Pasteur.
En 1881, illouse por primeira vez o organismo que se coñece como pneumococo polo seu papel como axente causante da pneumonía, de forma simultánea e independente polo médico norteamericano George Sternberg e o químico francés Louis Pasteur.