Theiler, << TAY lur >> Arnold (1867-1936), was a South African veterinary research scientist who carried out pioneer studies of the tsetse fly and how it spread sleeping sickness. He also studied the effects of poisonous plants on animals, animal diseases, and animal diets. In 1908, Theiler established the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute in Onderstepoort (north of Pretoria), South Africa. This institute has an international reputation for veterinary science.
Arnold Theiler was born in Frick, Switzerland, on March 26, 1867. He set up a private practice in South Africa in 1891. A terrible rinderpest plague of 1896, which wiped out half the country’s cattle, spurred his research into obscure cattle diseases.
During the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, Theiler served the Boers as a veterinary surgeon. When the British captured Pretoria, they allowed him to continue his research. Theiler gained his doctorate in 1901. In 1910, he was appointed director of veterinary services for the Union of South Africa. He was knighted in 1914. Theiler’s son Max won the 1951 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his work with yellow fever. Max became the first South African to win the Nobel Prize.
