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Top 15 interesting facts about Louis Pasteur
*Originally published by Molli in October 2019 and Updated by Vanessa in August 2022.
Louis Pasteur was a French scientist in the 19th century. He is sometimes called the father of microbiology and the father of germ theory. Pasteur made huge strides in his research of the cause of diseases, and he also went on to discover several cures for diseases that ravaged the world at the time.
He also revolutionalized how we preserve food and make it safer to eat. Ever wonder where the word “pasteurization” comes from? Well, Mr. Pasteur, of course! Keep reading to learn more about this ingenious French scientist. My top 15 interesting facts about Louis Pasteur coming right up!
1. Louis Pasteur is one of the fathers of the germ theory
In the 19th century, people weren’t aware that germs are what cause and exacerbates illnesses. It may seem obvious to us now that washing your hands is essential to stop the spreading of germs, but back in Pasteur’s time, people just weren’t aware of how these things worked.
Louis Pasteur in 1878 by
Paul Nadar – WikiCommons
The germ theory of disease had been around since the Middle Ages, but it wasn’t widely accepted. Although the smallpox vaccine was common in Europe by the 19th century, scientists and doctors still didn’t really understand how it worked, or how to apply the same concept to different diseases.
Pasteur changed things when he began studying germs in 1860. He began conducting experiments on the relationship between germs and diseases, and discovered the cause and effect of the puerperal fever.
From here, Pasteur continued to study, and his experiments led him to discover that certain micro-organisms that infected animals and humans eventually led to diseases.
2. Louis Pasteur is most famous for developing the pasteurization process
Simple pasteurization by Emma – WikiCommons
I’m sure that most if not all of you have heard of pasteurization. It is a process used to sanitize certain food products. After Pasteur realized that micro-organisms could cause disease, he knew that he needed to develop a way to prevent these pesky little carriers from getting inside comestible products.
His research also showed that micro-organisms were responsible for spoiling drinks like beer, wine and milk. He developed a process in which these beverages were heated to high temperatures, killing any sort of bacteria.
Pasteur patented his new process in 1865, and soon it was applied to wine, beer and milk. We still use the same process today!
3. Louis Pasteur developed the first vaccines for rabies
Rabies vaccination in Pasteur’s clinic in Paris. Lithograph by F. Pirodon – WikiCommons
Once Pasteur had realized how diseases were caused, he began working on several different vaccines for prevalent diseases at the time. This included rabies.
To create the vaccine for rabies, Pasteur infected a group of rabbits. He went on to remove some of the infected tissue, dried it out, and then reinserted it into the rabbits. This is the concept behind a vaccine: using the disease to fight itself. When you are vaccinated, the immune system is given something that looks similar to a particular bacteria, which helps it become stronger if it becomes actually infected. Make sense?
When Pasteur had success with his group of rabbits, he moved onto dogs. He successfully vaccinated over 50 rabid dogs. He knew the next step would be to test his vaccine on humans, but because he was not a licensed doctor, he technically wasn’t allowed to.
This rule was thrown out the window when a desperate family asked Pasteur for help with their 9-year-old child who had been badly bitten by a rabid dog. Pasteur gave the boy his vaccination, and he made a rapid recovery! This changed everything in the world of medicine and inspired the creation of many other vaccines to come.
4. Louis Pasteur helped save the silk industry
Louis Pasteur performing an experiment – WikiCommons
In the 19th century, silkworms in France were becoming infected with 2 diseases called pébrine and flacherie. This meant that farmers in southern France were being hit with big losses, and were therefore unable to produce large quantities of silk.
Pasteur stepped in to try to save the day. He began to conduct experiments to try to figure out what was going on. He noticed that the infected silkworms were covered in something called a “corpuscle.” A corpuscle is simply a cell that is sometimes found in organisms.
Pasteur concluded that the corpuscles were causing the pébrine disease in the silkworms. He went on to discover that the disease was heredity. He developed a technique to eradicate the disease: after the female silkworms laid their eggs, the eggs were then examined. If the eggs had corpuscles, they were quickly destroyed to stop the spread of pébrine. The silk farmers in France rejoiced!
5. Louis Pasteur copied some of his work
Jean Joseph Henri Toussaint by Louis Georges Neumann – WikiCommons
Pasteur was an extremely successful man, but he was also known for his secrecy. He even went so far as to urge his family to hide his notebooks after his death, so that no one could steal his ideas. Well, it turns out he was hiding more than just his bright ideas.
In 1946, Pasteur’s grandson went against his wishes and donated his notebooks to the Bibliothèque nationale de France, or the National Library of France. Inside, researchers discovered that Pasteur borrowed many of his ideas from other scientists.
For example, Pasteur is often credited with a vaccine for anthrax. Well, it turns out that Pasteur stole the vaccine from a French veterinarian named Jean Joseph Henri Toussaint. Toussaint developed the vaccine for anthrax, and shared his discoveries with Pasteur.
Pasteur then turned around and presented the findings in a public demonstration in 1881, and he neglected to give Toussaint any credit whatsoever. He also went on to get a patent for the vaccine, again without any mention of Toussaint.
6. Louis Pasteur lost 3 of his 5 children to typhoid
Later photo of Louis Pasteur with his family, and the Vallery-Radot family – WikiCommons
Pasteur married Marie Laurent in 1849 after meeting her at the University of Strasbourg, where Marie’s father was the university’s chancellor. Marie was a big help to Pasteur throughout his career, working as his assistant.
The couple had 5 children together, but sadly 3 died from the disease typhoid. One can assume that this loss motivated Pasteur to work towards the eradication of deadly diseases!
7. Louis Pasteur won the Alhumbert Prize
Louis Pasteur examining a patient surrounded by portraits of Louis Pasteur examining a patient surrounded by portraits of other patients – WikiCommons
Pasteur was a celebrated scientist in his time, and won many awards for his work. In 1862, he was awarded the Alhumbert Prize for his work in spontaneous generation.
Until this point, many in the medical and scientific world believed that living creatures could appear from nonliving substances. For example, it was commonly believed that fleas were formed from dust, and maggots were formed from dead flesh.
Pasteur debunked this theory. When he was performing fermentation experiments on wine, Pasteur determined that the skin of grapes were a natural source of yeast, and that sterilized grapes could not produce a juice that could be fermented. This questioned the theory of spontaneous generation.
This caused an uproar in the scientific community, as spontaneous generation was widely accepted. To settle the argument, the French Academy of Sciences said that they would award the Alhumbert Prize and 2,500 francs to anyone who could come up with evidence that supported or discouraged the concept.
Through an experiment, Pasteur showed that microbes could not grow in a sterilized environment. This showed that living organisms came from outside contact with other microbes, and could not be spontaneously generated.
8. Louis Pasteur was also interested in the arts
A painting depicting the birthplace of Pasteur, with his portrait to the left – WikiCommons
Science wasn’t Pasteur’s only interest! When he was 5 years old, his family moved to a French town called Arbois. Pasteur wasn’t a very studious child and preferred spending time outdoors, as he was interested in fishing and painting.
When he was 15, he was known to create portraits of his family using pastels and oil paint. These paintings were actually later moved to the Pasteur Institute in Paris (which I’ll tell you more about coming up!).
When Pasteur was 17, he enrolled in the Collège Royal de Besançon, where he earned a Bachelor of Art. It wasn’t until 2 years later that he began to show an interest in the sciences, going on to earn a Bachelor of Science from the same school.
9. Louis Pasteur founded the Pasteur Institute
The Pasteur Institute in Paris – WikiCommons
Between 1854-1857, Pasteur worked as the dean of the faculty of sciences at Lille University. From there, he went on to work at as the director of scientific studies at the École Normale Supérieure, where he had earned his Masters of Science in 1845, and then a doctorate in sciences in 1847.
After serving as the director of scientific studies at the École Normale Supérieure for 10 years, Pasteur decided that he wanted to create his own scientific institute, particularly to study the rabies vaccine. I present, the Pasteur Institute in Paris! He founded the institute in 1887, and served as the director there until his death in 1895.
Pasteur also created other Pasteur Institutes around the world, and today there are 32 in 29 countries around the world.
10. Louis Pasteur is buried in the Pasteur Institute in Paris
An illustration of Pasteur’s tomb in the Pasteur Institute in Paris, 1905 – WikiCommons
In 1868, Pasteur had a severe brain stroke which paralysed the entire left side of his body. He recovered, but in 1894, he suffered another stroke. This time he was unable to recover. He died in September of 1895 in Paris.
At the time, he was given a state funeral and was then buried in the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. His remains were eventually moved from the Notre-Dame and placed in a crypt in the Pasteur Institute in Paris.
Inside, you’ll find Pasteur’s tomb, which is decorated with a mosaic that depicts his scientific discoveries.
11. Pasteur gave his birds a bacterial injection
Pasteur gave his fowl an injection of germs. The birds were sick, but surprisingly they didn’t pass away. However, they had a resistance to further cholera injections as a result. Pasteur realized that weaker disease strains may aid in the immune system development of animals.
12. Initially, Pasteur was a chemist
He learned back then that many molecules and chemical substances are “chiral.” That term comes from cheir, which is the Greek word meaning “handed.” Many molecules are “handed,” in the same way that the left and right hands are not only mirror copies of one another but also asymmetric. In general, the characteristics of “left-handed ones” differ from those of their “right-handed,” mirror copies.
13. Additionally, Pasteur created three early vaccinations
One protected against anthrax, one stopped rabies infections, and one stopped chicken cholera. In general, Pasteur and Edward Jenner showed the undeniable benefits of vaccinations for saving lives. The final two vaccines developed by Pasteur, unfortunately, relied on enormous lies for widespread adoption.
14. In his early years, he had a typical academic record
He wasn’t a highly intellectual student in his early years; instead, he enjoyed fishing and drawing. He created several pastel drawings and pictures of his family, friends, and neighbours. The Collège d’Arbois served as Pasteur’s secondary school. He departed for Paris in October 1838 to join the Pension Barbet, but he later returned in November due to homelessness.
He enrolled in Besançon’s Collège Royal in 1839 to study philosophy, and in 1840 he received his Bachelor of Letters. While pursuing a degree in science with specific mathematics, he was hired as an instructor at the college in Besançon. In 1841, he failed his initial exam. In Dijon, where he received his Bachelor of Science in General Science, he was able to pass the baccalauréat Scientifique (general science).
15. Pasteur established the organization that bears his name in 1887
pasteur place by Velvet from Wikimedia Commons
The institute that carries Pasteur’s name was established in 1887. The Pasteur Institute aspires to carry on its founder’s pursuit of the aims of understanding microbes and curing and preventing illnesses.
Its scientists have produced eight physicians who have won medical Nobel Prizes. Its scientists were the first to identify the HIV virus, and their work has improved therapies for illnesses that are fatal, including diphtheria, influenza, plague, polio, tetanus, TB, and yellow fever.
From 1888 on, Pasteur and his wife Marie resided at the Institute in Paris, where he built a sizable apartment for himself to live in for the remainder of his life. After the passing of her husband, she remained there for an additional 15 years, up until her own passing in 1910.
Practical Information for visiting the Pasteur Institute:
Entry fee: 14 euros
Opening hours: The Pasteur Institute welcomes group visits only that must be scheduled ahead of time. Please see their website for more details.
Address: 25 Rue du Dr Roux, 75015 Paris
Metro station: Pasteur / Volontaires
Conclusion
There you have it, my dear readers! My top 10 interesting facts about French scientist Louis Pasteur. I hope you’ve learned a lot from the father of microbiology and germ theory! Do you plan on visiting the Pasteur Institute when you’re in Paris? I recommend it!
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