Who was Alexander Yersin and why is he honored with a street and museum in Nha Trang?

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TL;DR

Alexandre Yersin was a Swiss-French doctor who discovered the plague bacterium in 1894; he lived in Nha Trang, founded the local Pasteur Institute, and treated locals for free, which is why Vietnamese still honor him today.

What the community said

Yersin was a Swiss-French doctor and scientist who discovered the plague-causing bacterium in 1894, later named Yersinia pestis after him.

Yersinia pestis

After settling in Nha Trang, Yersin founded the local Pasteur Institute and treated residents for free, earning deep respect from the Vietnamese.

Pasteur Institute, Nha Trang

Besides medicine, Yersin experimented with agriculture, growing rubber trees and cinchona (quinine source) in central Vietnam.

rubber and cinchona trees

Yersin was among the first to propose using the cool Langbiang plateau for a mountain resort, which later became the city of Da Lat.

Langbiang plateau / Da Lat

As per his wish, Yersin was buried near Nha Trang; today his grave, museum, and streets named after him can be found across Vietnam.

Yersin's grave and museum, Nha Trang