Who is Louis Pasteur?
Louis Pasteur is born on December 27, 1822, in Dote, France. His father was a tanner. He never wanted his son to follow his footsteps because a tanner involved unremitting hard labour. Pasteur’s parents were honest, hard working and devout.
Louis Pasteur is one of the greatest scientists. This French chemist and micro-biologist made many very significant discoveries. This discovery of fundamental value and fair-reaching significance were in the fields of health, medicine, diseases, industry a d agriculture. These proved really landmarks in our glorious history of science and achievements.
His devotion of his researches and scientific work was exemplary and he never sought any personal gains or advantage for himself from these. Louis life time achievements in chemistry and bacteriology immensely benefitted the entire humanity and we all feel so proud of this great man and scientist.
College Life of Louis Pasteur
In 1827 Pasteur moved to nearby Arbois and there the child was admitted to a school. It was here that Louis as a school boy showed great promise and attracted the attention of the school teachers and the headmaster. At the age of 17 he received a degree of bachelor of letters from the Royal de Besancon College.
The next three years he taught some junior students to earn money and made preparations for the Ecole Normale, a famous college in Paris. During this period he worked on the crystallographic chemical and optical properties of various forms of tartaric acid which laid the foundations for later research and studies in the geometry of chemical bonds. These studies helped him in getting recognition and the job of an assistant of chemistry.
Discoveries Conclusion of Louis Pasteur
Pasteur’s discoveries were great practical value for medicine, health, industry and agriculture. These saved millions of lives and generated immense new wealth for the entire world. He saved the silk, liquor and agriculture from diseases and destruction.
He discovered the process of pasteurization and invented ways and means to save mankind from such deadly diseases as anthrax, chicken cholera and rabies. Because of his so many and so valuable discoveries he became a darling of the world and grew into a legend in his own lifetime.
As a Professor in Strasbourg University and Married Life
Louis got a degree of science degree in 1847 and soon became a professor of chemistry at the university if Strasbourg. As an assistant to Mr. Bolard he came in contact with such other professor as Jean Baptiste, Dumas etc. at Strasbourg, he met officially the President of the university.
Louis developed love for his daughter Marie Laurent and sent his marriage proposal to her father. They were married on May 29, 1849. His wife shared his passion of science and research and they had five children but unfortunately three of them died in childhood.
Career At Lille University in 1854
Pasteur became professor of chemistry and dean of new Science at the University of Lille in 1854. Some of his greatest work was done here during his stay at Lille. His interests in microbes was growing when a local distiller approached him for help in preventing alcohol from turning sour which he was producing from beet sugar Pasteur found during his studies that fermentation was a complex chemical reaction that happened only in the presence of certain living organisms.
He also discovered that fermentation, putrefaction, infection and souring are caused by microbes. This was a revolutionary discovery. He also discovered what caused milk turning sour and gave the world the valuable technique of pasteurization and thus immensely helped the dairy industry.
Return to Ecole Normale in Paris
In 1857, Pasteur left Lille and returned to his old institutions, the Ecole Normale in Paris. He was made manager and director of the institute. In 1862 he was elected to the Academy of Sciences. During these years he further studied the germ theory and proved that germs or microbes did not originate spontaneously in matter but entered from the outside.
In 1865 he discovered how bacteria caused diseases in silk- production. He also shows how to prevent the diseases by destroying bacteria in mulberry leaves. It was the result of his 2 years hard work and research leading to the isolation of the bacteria that caused the diseases in silkworms.
Tragedy with Louis Pasteur and Anthrax Theory
Two of his children had already died and then in October, 1868 he himself became a victim another great tragedy. He was struck by paralysis. His left arm and leg were paralyzed and he was confined to bed, but within three months he was back at his work-table. Then he was 45 years old. The paralytic stroke left its mark on him and for the rest of his life, his left foot dragged a little while he walked.
Soon he began his researches on contagious diseases. In 1877 he began to research a cure for anthrax, the fatal diseases found in farm animals. He was also working on chicken cholera then. He found that when he inculcated healthy chicken with weakened to the diseases. He successfully applied this technique of immunization to the prevention of anthrax. He isolated anthrax bacilli and also how to control and eradicate it.
At first many scientists doubted his anthrax prevention theory and application. And so he agreed to a dramatic test and public demonstration. He collected some forty-eight sheep, cows and goats at a farm near Melun. Half the animals were first immunized with weakened strain of anthrax microbes and then all were injected with strong cultures.
Pasteur predicated that within 48 hours all the vaccinated animals would be alive while unvaccinated would be dead. And really the untreated animals died but the immunized ones showed no effect of the diseases. The test and demonstration was a complete success. He called all inoculation cultures as vaccines and the technique of inoculation as vaccination.
Louis Succeed in Hydrophobia
Pasteur devoted himself in solving a very great problem of rabies. Rabies is also known as hydrophobia and is caused by a virus infection that affects a wide range of animals including dogs, cats, foxes skunks and vampire bats. It is transmitted to human begins by bites and licks on skin abrasions.
It directly and predominantly affects the central nervous system and salivary glands resulting in hallucinations and delusions. Other symptoms include restlessness, muscle, spasms, and painful spasms of larynx making it difficult for the infected person to drink. The alternative name “hydrophobia” stems from this difficulty in drinking water by the infected man or animals.
The Boy Joseph Meister
In July, 1885 a young boy named Joseph Meister bitten by a mad dog was brought before Pasture. Unless some effective treatment was given to Joseph, he was bound to die soon. Pasture undertook to treat the patient and he was given the hydrophobia injection and there was gradually recovery and improvement and the treatment was successful.
Achievements of Pasteur
Louis gets a many awards and many honours for his wonderful discoveries, honours poured upon him from all over the globe. In 1888, the Pasteur Institute was set up in Paris. Thousands of persons contributed funds towards establishing this institute and laboratory of world fame, where scientists conduct research on different diseases.
In 1888 till death on September 25, 1895 he was head of the Pasteur Institute. The French Government gave him a public funeral and his death was mourned in the science-circles all over the world.