From F.P.O. Nägler, an early 20th century bacteriologist, and Malcolm Fowler, an Australian physician. In 1912, A. Alexeieff proposed a new genus for questionable amoeboid forms, which he named Nägleria in honor of Nägler’s work in identifying amoebae that pass through a biflagellate stage. Fifty-three years later, a report from Australia described human meningoencephalitis caused by an amebo-flagellate, later recognized as a member of Naegleria. In 1970, the pathogen was designated Naegleria fowleri after Fowler, who obtained one of the first isolates from human brain tissue.

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