Pasteur, Louis

(1822-1895)

   chemist, biologist

   Louis Pasteur, the world-renowned scientist who founded the study of microbiology, proved the germ theory of disease, invented the process of pasteurization, and developed important vaccines (rabies), was born in Dole and educated in Paris at the École normale supérieure. His early research was in the area of crystallography, the results themselves forming the basis for stereochemistry. All Pasteur's discoveries, even the most basic, have as their objective some practical application. The first, conducted when he was a professor at Lille, concerned fermentation, the many problems in wine production, and the transformation into vinegar (1863). At this time he discovered the existence of specific microorganisms responsible for all processes of fermentation and decay. He showed that whereas one type could not live without oxygen, the other anaerobic types could be treated by a rapid heating, in a process to become known as pasteurization. The existence of living organisms responsible for chemical reaction and the possibility of life in the absence of oxygen were two hypotheses that were in total opposition to the scientific knowledge of the period. it was also at this time that Pasteur's experiments allowed him to refute definitively the prevailing scientific concept of spontaneous generation. Beginning in 1865, because of problems in the silk industry, he became interested in infectious diseases and proved that specific microorganisms were the cause. Studying also sheep (anthrax), then cholera in chickens, and finally rabies, Pasteur discovered with C. É. Cham-berland and émile roux that the attenuated bacteria rendered animals immune to diseases: this was the discovery of preventive vaccines. in 1881, assisted by Roux, he gave such vaccines to humans. Pasteur became internationally famous. Convinced that science constituted the way to ameliorate the fate of humankind, Pasteur was an ardent patriot, tireless worker (despite his paralysis), capable experimenter, and gifted with great intuition. Pasteur represents the image of the disinterested, totally devoted scientist. in 1881, he became director of the institut Pasteur, which still is a center for the study of infectious diseases and other subjects, such as molecular genetics. Pasteur was named to the Academy of Sciences in 1862, and to the Académie Française in 1881.