Albert Ludwig Sigesmund Neisser
Neisser was born in the Silesian town of Schweidnitz (now Świdnica, in Poland), the son of a well-known Jewish physician, Dr. Moritz Neisser. After he completed the elementary school in Münsterberg, Neisser enrolled in the St. Maria Magdalena School in Breslau (now Wrocław, in Poland). In this school, he was a contemporary of another great name in the history of medicine, Paul Ehrlich. He obtained the Abitur in 1872.
Albert Edward Smith
Smith was born on October 20, 1871, in Guelph, Ontario, the son of William George Smith and Elizabeth Bildson, working-class immigrants from England. He worked as a machinist's apprentice and later a bookbinder to contribute to the family's income. His family later moved to Hamilton, where he developed an interest in religion after joining the Gore Street Methodist Church. After passing an oral examination, he became a lay preacher in 1988. In 1890 Smith was transferred to MacGregor, Manitoba, to begin field work. His appointment came from James Woodsworth, and father of J. S. Woodsworth.