Louis Pasteur Biography

Louis Pasteur Biography

Full Name: Dr. Louis Pasteur
Date of Birth: December 27, 1822
Place of Birth: Dole, France
Died: September 28, 1895
Place of Death: Saint-Cloud, France
Classification: Scientists & Thinkers


One of the greatest chemists and biologists in France and the world, Louis Pasteur had an indefatigable work ethic at researching and discovering why germs, baceteria, and viruses wreaked havoc on humans, plants, and animals alike. His later studies in crystallography, or the shape of certain crystalline matter, would shape his career and life. Little did he know that he would become one of France’s heroes and would forever have the worldwide Pasteur Institute carry on his dream of allowing the human race to live without fear or disease or war.

Born to a tanner, Louis Pasteur wasn’t brought up in a wealthy household. However, young Louis was confident in his intellectual abilities and studied at Arbois and Besancon until 1840. Following, he studied at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris and began his doctorate work thereafter. He taught physics in Tournon for a short time, but was then called to study crystals and salts – a problem that was baffling scientists due to the fact that they had different properties. Pasteur found that each isomer had different qualities because they were optical in nature, meaning that some were left-handed and some were right-handed. With this discovery, Pasteur became famous amongst scientists in France and abroad. He was immediately taken into the French Legion of Honor and England presented him with the Copley Medal. He then landed a post at the University of Strasbourg.

Following his fame at such a young age, the young Louis took on a new job at the University of Lille where he would study the fermentation of wine, vinegar, beer, and eventually help France solve its silkworm problem that was devastating silk production across the land. He found in his work that fermentation was produced because of living organisms; some which required oxygen and some that did not. It was at this time that the technique of pasteurization was dubbed; this was the purification of products to reduce or lessen the possibility of spoiling due to the presence of living organisms. Pasteur also worked on theories of killing microorganisms by cleaning surgical tools and by ensuring bandages were sterile.

For his contributions to various medical fields, Pasteur was made a member of the French Academy of Medicine – one of the only men to do so who wasn’t actually a medical doctor. He went on to investigate anthrax and worked to immunize sheep that would prove to grow resistant to the outbreak. Additionally, he worked on a cure for rabies, and after over five years of labor-intensive dedication, Pasteur came up with a way to help save animals and humans. He saved young Joseph Meister who would later become a member of the French Guard and guard the tomb of Pasteur. Ironically, Meister killed himself outside the gate when a German soldier demanded entrance.