Max von Gruber's discovery of specific bacterial agglutination in 1896 laid the groundwork for significant advances in serology and immunology.

Gruber was born in Vienna, the son of a prominent physician, Ignaz Gruber (1803-1872), and his wife, née Gabrielle Edle von Menninger. His brother, Franz von Gruber (1837-1918), became famous as an architect, military engineer, and teacher. After preparing for college at the Schottengymnasium in Vienna, Gruber studied chemistry and physiology at the University of Vienna, earned his M.D. there in 1876, then took postgraduate instruction in the biosciences under Max Josef von Pettenkoffer (1818-1901) in Vienna, Carl von Voit (1831-1908) and Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli (1817-1891) in Munich, Germany, and Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (1816-1895) in Leipzig, Germany. Among his fellow graduate students under Pettenkoffer was Hans Buchner (1850-1902), who urged Gruber toward bacteriology.

Gruber began lecturing on hygiene at the University of Vienna...