Biography

Louis Pasteur was born in Dôle France on December 27th 1822. He was the son of a tanner. His family moved to Arbois where he got an excellent education in the local schools. In 1842 Louis entered the Ecole Narmale Supérieure in Paris where he started to become interested in chemistry. He completed his doctorate in that school in 1847. Louis Pasteur made many contributions to science and was most known for vaccines for infections such as rabies, cholera and anthrax. Pasteur also discovered that bacteria causes diseases. Pasteur died on September 28th 1895.

Louis Pasteur Portrait
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Major Ideas

Louis Pasteur was a Chemist. He is credited with saving the wine and silk industries during the 19th century. He discovered the reason why wine would become bitter or sour and he figured out why the silk worms were dying. He discovered that the reason wine would become bitter or sour was because of harmful microorganisms in the fermentation mixture. He discovered that if people put wine in an area that was 55 degrees fahrenheit for several minutes the harmful bacteria in the wine would be destroyed but the taste of the wine would stay intact. This process is now called pasteurization which is used on now for vinegar, beer, juice, milk, cheese, and eggs. Pasteur was able to save the silk business by discovering that specific microbes were causing specific diseas in the silk worms. In 1877 Pasteur started focusing on the cause of disease. People at the time believed that bad air or human sins were the cause of disease. Pasteur and Robert Koch are credited for the germ theory of disease which says that diseases are caused by specific microbes. Pasteur went one step further and suggested that the spread of disease could be stopped by killing the microorganisms that were causing diseases. Before Pasteur Doctors did not sterilize there their equipment. After doctors implemented Pasteur's aseptic techniques death following operations dropped from 50 percent to 3 percent. Another idea that Pasteur discovered was vaccines. He discovered vaccines while studying chicken cholera. He realized that the Chickens could be cured and prevented from ever getting the disease by being vaccinated. In 1881 Pasteur developed an anthrax vaccine. During this time Anthrax was killing hoards of cattle and other farm animals. He also created a vaccine for rabies. Pasteur's rabies vaccine saved many lives.

Pasteur's Rabies Vaccine

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Short Term Influences

Louis Pasteur had many short term influences during the 19th century. The first of his major influence was on the wine and silk industry in the 19th century. Wine was becoming sour very quickly and people could not figure out why. Pasteur discovered the reason why this was happening. He also realized a way that he could stop the wine from going bad. He discovered that by putting the wine in an area that was 55 degrees fahrenheit Pasteur realized that the harmful bacteria in the wine could be destroyed. Pasteur also saved the 19th century silk industry. Pasteur discovered that specific microbes were causing diseases in the silk worms and killing them. He decided that this could be stopped by destroying moths that were showing signs of disease. He was able to correctly identify which disease would be present in a silk worm and was therefore able to cure the disease and save the silk industry. Another huge influence Pasteur had was on surgery. Before Pasteur 19th century doctors did not sterilize their tools after surgery and many people got diseases and died after surgery. When doctors started using Pasteur's aseptic techniques death after operations dropped from 50 percent to 3 percent. Another big influence Pasteur had on 19th century society was the discovery of certain vaccines. He discovered the vaccine for anthrax and rabies. Anthrax was killing livestock during the 19th century. He created a vaccine to stop this from continuing. This saved many lives of livestock animals. Pasteur's vaccine for rabies also saved many people's lives that otherwise would of died.

Long Term Influences

Louis Pasteur had a huge affect on life today. Louis Pasteur's theory on wine has been applied to milk in the modern age. Pasteurization is used heavily in the united states today. In the united states today many states do not allow the sale of unpasteurized milk in their state. His vaccines for cholera and rabies are still used today and still save many lives. Pasteur's germ theory of disease is very influential in modern day society. People now wash their hands frequently in order to not get sick. One cannot walk to far with out seeing a bottle of purell. Just the simple fact that people have realized that diseases are caused by specific microbes. During the 19th century this was a crazy idea but now it is an idea that everybody knows to be true. Modern day doctors still use Pasteur's aseptic techniques during surgery which causes much less infections coming out of hospitals.

Quotes

"In the field of observation, chance favours only the prepared mind."
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"Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My only strength lies in my tenacity."
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