The career of Theodor Escherich (1857-1911) qualifies him as the first pediatric infectious diseases physician. His landmark bacteriologic studies identified the common colon bacillus (now known as Escherichia coli), and he was very committed to pediatrics, serving as chairman of several prominent departments of pediatrics, including the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vienna and St. Anna's Children's Hospital in Vienna, Austria, arguably Europe's most prestigious pediatric position.