1822-1895

French Chemist and Microbiologist

Louis Pasteur began his scientific career as a chemist and made important contributions to that field. However, he is best remembered as the father of microbiology. His work toward identifying microorganisms and understanding how they cause disease was instrumental in the development of modern medicine. By discovering why food spoils and how to preserve it, Pasteur also helped to increase the safety and shelf life of the world's food supply.

Pasteur was born in 1822 in a small village near Dijon, France. As a youth he was remarkable mainly for his talent as a painter; he struggled with his schoolwork despite spending a great deal of time at it. One schoolmaster recognized that Pasteur's work was extremely methodical rather than simply slow, and he arranged for Pasteur to transfer to a private school in Paris. But the homesick country boy lasted only...