Louis Pasteur: A National Hero

Louis Pasteur, one of the greatest benefactors of humanity was the first person to see that bacteria cause diseases. He was a scientist who associated an animal disease with a microorganism. Pasteur solved the mysteries of rabies, anthrax, chicken cholera, and silkworm diseases. He is also contributed to the development of the first vaccine. He described the basis of fermentation, wine-making using pasteurization and brewing of beer. Pasteur’s work gave way to many branches of science, making him responsible for some of the most theoretical concepts and practical applications of modern day science. Before his discoveries, many had believed in the widely accepted myth of spontaneous generation. Pasteur founded microbiology and made known that spontaneous generation doesn’t exist by proving that most infectious diseases are caused by micro-organisms. This became known as the “germ theory” of diseases. His discovery of the vaccine for rabies led to the founding of the Pasteur Institute in Paris in 1888.

Louis Pasteur was born on December 27, 1822, in the town of Dole in Eastern France. His parents were peasants; his father was a tanner by trade. He spent the early days of his life in the town of Arbois, where he attended school and where he didn’t do very well, and preferring to go fishing instead. His headmaster, sensing that Pasteur had potential encouraged him to go to Paris to study. At the age of fifteen he set off to Paris, but because he was homesick, his father brought him back home. He continued to study in his hometown until he was ready to go back. He succeeded and went on to study at the Ecole Normale Superieure. In 1847 he was given his doctorate and became a teacher’s assistant. In 1849 he was made professor of phy...

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Works Cited

Louis Pasteur And Rabies

Lilian A. Bates British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition) Vol. 290, No. 6477 (Apr. 27, 1985), p. 1287 Published by: BMJ Publishing Group Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29519055

Pasteur and the Process of Discovery: The Case of Optical Isomerism

Gerald L. Geison and James A. Secord Isis Vol. 79, No. 1 (Mar., 1988), pp. 6-36 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/234439

The Contributions of Pasteur to Medicine and Humanity

William Sydney Thayer and Pasteur Valléry-Radot Science New Series, Vol. 58, No. 1511 (Dec. 14, 1923), pp. 475-485 Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1647200