Birth of Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur was born on 27 December 1822 in Dole. A French chemist and microbiologist, Pasteur began by studying the crystal structure of tartaric acid before turning to fermentation, which he showed was caused by living microorganisms. He disproved the theory of spontaneous generation and was a founder of the germ theory of disease. His work led to the process of pasteurisation, which prevents spoilage of wine, milk and other foods, and to vaccines against anthrax and rabies, the latter first used on a boy bitten by a rabid dog in 1885. The Pasteur Institute, founded in Paris in 1887, continues his research. He is one of the founders of modern microbiology.

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