Louis Pasteur Facts

Louis Pasteur Facts

Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist who made many important discoveries related to the immune system, vaccinations, chemistry and the nature of diseases. Read on for interesting facts, quotes and information about Louis Pasteur.

• Louis Pasteur lived from December the 27th 1822 to September the 28th 1895 and was famous for his work on disease causes and prevention.
• He is well known for inventing a process to stop food and liquid such as milk from making people sick. This method is called Pasteurization, it helps reduce the number of microorganisms that could cause disease while not affecting the quality and taste in a way which sterilization would.
• Many of Pasteur’s experiments supported the germ theory of disease, they helped show that microorganisms are the true cause of many diseases. In earlier times people believed that diseases were spontaneously generated, over time this theory was superseded thanks to the work of Pasteur and many others.
• Pasteur’s work also included breakthroughs in the field of chemistry. He discovered the molecular basis for the asymmetry of certain crystals, made discoveries related to the nature of tartaric acid and was the professor of chemistry at the University of Strasbourg.
• Pasteur studied the immune system and vaccination through research on chicken cholera and other diseases. He helped produce the first vaccine for rabies, saving the life of a young boy in 1885 who became the first person to receive such treatment.
• In honor of his work and influential contributions, Pastuer was made a Grand Croix of the Legion of Honor, a prestigious French order.
• Famous Louis Pasteur quotes include: “Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.”
• “I am on the edge of mysteries and the veil is getting thinner and thinner.”
• “I am utterly convinced that Science and Peace will triumph over Ignorance and War, that nations will eventually unite not to destroy but to edify, and that the future will belong to those who have done the most for the sake of suffering humanity.”
• “One does not ask of one who suffers: What is your country and what is your religion? One merely says: You suffer, that is enough for me”