Louis Pasteur: Quick Facts

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Sep. 24, 2026

Born	December 27, 1822 • Dole • France
Died	September 28, 1895 (aged 72) • Saint-Cloud • France
Awards And Honors	Copley Medal (1874)
Inventions	pasteurization
Subjects Of Study	Pasteur effect • disease • fermentation • germ theory • microorganism • putrefaction • racemic acid • spontaneous generation • stereoisomerism • tartaric acid • virulence

Pasteur's family had been leather tanners for many generations.
Before Pasteur's vaccine was created, bites from rabid animals were treated by cauterizing the wound; rabies almost always developed anyway.
Pasteur found that it was actually two different microorganisms causing disease in France's silkworms.