 I'm Matthew Harvey, part of the team here at the Federation of European Microbiological Societies. My microbiological hero is John Snow, a 19th century British physician and epidemiologist. Although he made a number of discoveries and developments in his lifetime, it is his work on understanding the causes of waterborne disease, particularly cholera, that he is most famous for. He studied an outbreak of cholera in Soho, London, in 1854. The ultimate impact of his findings are momentous, saving countless lives, but it is his method for studying, understanding and then explaining the issues involved that I'm especially impressed by. Snow was working against the established scientific orthodoxy of the time, demonstrating an inquisitive and questioning mind, which I also admire. He collected and examined data to test his hypothesis, making rational conclusions based on evidence. He published his findings, including diagrams of supporting data illustrating the facts clearly and incontrovertibly, and asked his peers to read and comment on his conclusions. He shared his suggestions and supporting evidence with the local authorities, who were sufficiently convinced to remove the handle of a water pump at the centre of a cholera outbreak, which demonstrated the link between the contaminating water and the epidemic. Snow's study was a major event in the history of public health and epidemiology, but also a wonderful example of how statistical analysis and data visualisation can be used to illustrate even a contested hypothesis beyond reasonable doubt. The value of Snow's work was recognised even in his own lifetime, and he was a celebrated scientist and physician. He has since received the ultimate accolade in the UK and has a pub named after him in Soho.