Louis Pasteur
French microbiologist and chemist
Born	December 27, 1822(1822-12-27) Dole, Franche-Comté, France
Died	September 28, 1895 (aged 72) Marnes-la-Coquette, 92, France
Signature

Louis Pasteur (December 27, 1822 – September 28, 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist best known for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and prevention of disease. A microbiologist is a Scientist who works in the field of Microbiology. A chemist is a Scientist trained in the Science of Chemistry. Events 537 - The Hagia Sophia is completed 1512 - The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the Year 1822 (MDCCCXXII was a Common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Sunday of the Dole is a commune in the Jura département in France, of which it is a Sous-préfecture. Franche-Comté ( Franc-Comtois: Fràntche-Comté; Franco-Provençal: Franche-Comtât) the former "Free County" of Burgundy This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Events 48 BC - Pompey the Great is assassinated on orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Marnes-la-Coquette is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. Hauts-de-Seine (92 (literally " Seine Heights" is a département in France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Events 537 - The Hagia Sophia is completed 1512 - The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the Year 1822 (MDCCCXXII was a Common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Sunday of the Events 48 BC - Pompey the Great is assassinated on orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A chemist is a Scientist trained in the Science of Chemistry. A microbiologist is a Scientist who works in the field of Microbiology. His experiments supported the germ theory of disease, also reducing mortality from puerperal fever (childbed), and he created the first vaccine for rabies. The germ theory, also called the pathogenic theory of medicine, is a Theory that proposes that Microorganisms are the cause of many Diseases. Puerperal fever (from the Latin puer, child) also called childbed fever, can develop into puerperal sepsis, which is a serious A vaccine is a biological preparation which is used to establish or improve immunity to a particular disease Rabies (from rabies “madness rage fury” Also known as “ hydrophobia ” is a viral Zoonotic neuroinvasive disease that He was best known to the general public for inventing a method to stop milk and wine from causing sickness - this process came to be called pasteurization. Pasteurization is the process of heating Liquids for the purpose of destroying bacteria, Protozoa, Molds and Yeasts The process was He is regarded as one of the three main founders of microbiology, together with Ferdinand Cohn and Robert Koch. Microbiology (from Greek grc μῑκρος mīkros, "small" grc βίος bios, " Life " and grc -λογία Ferdinand Julius Cohn (24 January 1828 &ndash 25 June 1898 was a German Biologist. Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( December 11 1843 – May 27 1910) was a German Physician. He also made many discoveries in the field of chemistry, most notably the asymmetry of crystals. Asymmetry is the absence of or a violation of a Symmetry. In organisms Due to how cells divide in Organisms asymmetry in organisms is In Materials science, a crystal is a Solid in which the constituent Atoms Molecules or Ions are packed in a regularly ordered repeating ^[1] He is buried beneath the Institut Pasteur, an incredibly rare honor in France, where being buried in a cemetery is mandatory save for the fewer than 300 "Great Men" who are entombed in the Panthéon. The Panthéon ( Latin Pantheon, from Greek Pantheon meaning "All the gods" is a building in the Latin Quarter

Early life and biography

Louis Jean Pasteur was born on December 27, 1822 in Dole in the Jura region of France and grew up in the town of Arbois. Events 537 - The Hagia Sophia is completed 1512 - The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the Year 1822 (MDCCCXXII was a Common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Sunday of the Dole is a commune in the Jura département in France, of which it is a Sous-préfecture. Jura is a department in the east of France named after the Jura mountains (not to be confused with the Swiss canton of Jura This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Arbois is a commune in the Jura department in eastern France Geography Arbois is built on the shores of the Cuisance River ^[1] There he later had his house and laboratory, which is a Pasteur museum today. His father, Jean Pasteur (1791-1864), was a poorly educated tanner^[1] and a decorated Sergeant-Major of the Grande Armee. Tanning is the process of converting Putrescible skin into non-putrescible Leather, usually with Tannin, an Acidic Chemical compound A Sergeant Major is a rank or appointment in many militaries around the world Louis's aptitude was recognized by his college headmaster, who recommended that the young man apply for the École Normale Supérieure, which accepted him. École Normale de Musique de ParisThe École normale supérieure (also known as Normale Sup’, Normale, ENS, ENS-Paris, ENS-Ulm or After serving briefly as professor of physics at Dijon Lycée in 1848, he became professor of chemistry at Strasbourg University,^[2] where he met and courted Marie Laurent, daughter of the university's rector in 1849. The meaning of the word professor ( Latin: professor, person who professes to be an expert in some art or science teacher of highest rank) varies Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, founded in 1631 was divided in the 1970s into three separate institutions with a total The word rector ("ruler" from the Latin regere and Rector meaning "Teacher" In Latin has a number of different meanings but all of them indicate an academic They were married on May 29, 1849 and together they had five children, only two of whom survived to adulthood. CHILD syndrome (or congenital hemidysplasia with ichthyosiform erythroderma and limb defects) is a genetic disorder For the 2008 British film by Noel Clarke see Adulthood (film. Throughout his life, Louis Pasteur remained an ardent Catholic. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". A well-known quotation illustrating this is attributed to him: "The more I know, the more nearly is my faith that of the Breton peasant. For the Wikipedia quotation templates see:CategoryQuotation templates. Could I but know all I would have the faith of a Breton peasant's wife. "^[3]

Work on chirality and the polarization of light

Pasteur separated the left and right crystal shapes from each other to form two piles of crystals: in solution one form rotated light to the left, the other to the right, while an equal mixture of the two forms canceled each other's rotation. In Materials science, a crystal is a Solid in which the constituent Atoms Molecules or Ions are packed in a regularly ordered repeating Hence, the mixture does not rotate polarized light. Polarization ( ''Brit'' polarisation) is a property of Waves that describes the orientation of their oscillations

In Pasteur's early works as a chemist, he resolved a problem concerning the nature of tartaric acid (1849). A chemist is a Scientist trained in the Science of Chemistry. Tartaric acid is a white crystalline Organic acid. It occurs naturally in many plants particularly Grapes Bananas and Tamarinds and is A solution of this compound derived from living things (specifically, wine lees) rotated the plane of polarization of light passing through it. Lees refers to deposits of dead Yeast or residual yeast and other particles that precipitate or are carried by the action of " Fining " to the bottom of Polarization ( ''Brit'' polarisation) is a property of Waves that describes the orientation of their oscillations The mystery was that tartaric acid derived by chemical synthesis had no such effect, even though its chemical reactions were identical and its elemental composition was the same. Tartaric acid is a white crystalline Organic acid. It occurs naturally in many plants particularly Grapes Bananas and Tamarinds and is In Chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of Chemical reactions in order to get a product, or several products ^[1]

Upon examination of the minuscule crystals of Sodium ammonium tartrate, Pasteur noticed that the crystals came in two asymmetric forms that were mirror images of one another. In Materials science, a crystal is a Solid in which the constituent Atoms Molecules or Ions are packed in a regularly ordered repeating Tediously sorting the crystals by hand gave two forms of the compound: solutions of one form rotated polarized light clockwise, while the other form rotated light counterclockwise. An equal mix of the two had no polarizing effect on the light. Pasteur correctly deduced the molecule in question was asymmetric and could exist in two different forms that resemble one another as would left- and right-hand gloves, and that the biological source of the compound provided purely the one type. ^[4] This was the first time anyone had demonstrated chiral molecules. The term chiral (pronounced /ˈkaɪɹ(əl̩/ is used to describe an object that is non- superimposable on its mirror image

Pasteur's doctoral thesis on crystallography attracted the attention of M. Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of Atoms in Solids In older usage it is the scientific study of Crystals The Puillet and he helped Pasteur garner a position of professor of chemistry at the Faculté (College) of Strasbourg. Strasbourg (Strasbourg stʁazbuʁ Alsatian: Strossburi,; Straßburg) is the capital and principal City of the Alsace région ^[2]

In 1854, he was named Dean of the new Faculty of Sciences in Lille. Lille (lil Rijsel is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in the country In 1856, he was made administrator and director of scientific studies of the École Normale Supérieure. École Normale de Musique de ParisThe École normale supérieure (also known as Normale Sup’, Normale, ENS, ENS-Paris, ENS-Ulm or ^[2]

Germ theory

Louis demonstrated that the fermentation process is caused by the growth of microorganisms, and that the growth of microorganisms in nutrient broths is not due to spontaneous generation^[5]but rather to biogenesis (Omne vivum ex ovo). Fermentation in Food processing typically refers to the conversion of Sugar to Alcohol using Yeast under Anaerobic conditions A microorganism (also spelled micro organism or micro-organism and also called a microbe) is an Organism that is Microscopic (usually In the Natural sciences, Abiogenesis, or origin of life, is the study of how Life on Earth emerged from Inanimate Organic Biogenesis is the process of Lifeforms producing other lifeforms e Biogenesis is the process of Lifeforms producing other lifeforms e

Bottle "en Col de cygne" used by Pasteur

He exposed boiled broths to air in vessels that contained a filter to prevent all particles from passing through to the growth medium, and even in vessels with no filter at all, with air being admitted via a long tortuous tube that would not allow dust particles to pass. Nothing grew in the broths; therefore, the living organisms that grew in such broths came from outside, as spores on dust, rather than spontaneously generated within the broth. This was one of the last and most important experiments disproving the theory of spontaneous generation. In the Natural sciences, Abiogenesis, or origin of life, is the study of how Life on Earth emerged from Inanimate Organic The experiment also supported germ theory. ^[5]

While Pasteur was not the first to propose germ theory (Girolamo Fracastoro, Agostino Bassi, Friedrich Henle and others had suggested it earlier), he developed it and conducted experiments that clearly indicated its correctness and managed to convince most of Europe it was true. The germ theory, also called the pathogenic theory of medicine, is a Theory that proposes that Microorganisms are the cause of many Diseases. Girolamo Fracastoro ( Fracastorius) (1478‑ August 8, 1553) was an Italian Physician, Scholar (in Mathematics Agostino Bassi, sometimes called de Lodi, ( September 25, 1773, near Lodi Lombardy – February 8, 1856, in Lodi Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle (July 9 1809 - May 13 1885 was a German Physician, Pathologist and Anatomist. ^[6] Today he is often regarded as the father of germ theory and bacteriology, together with Robert Koch. Microbiology (from Greek grc μῑκρος mīkros, "small" grc βίος bios, " Life " and grc -λογία Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( December 11 1843 – May 27 1910) was a German Physician. ^[6][7]

Pasteur's research also showed that some microorganisms contaminated fermenting beverages. With this established, he invented a process in which liquids such as milk were heated to kill most bacteria and molds already present within them. ^[8] He and Claude Bernard completed the first test on April 20, 1862. Claude Bernard ( July 12, 1813 – February 10, 1878) was a French Physiologist. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Year 1862 was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Monday This process was soon afterwards known as pasteurisation (or "pasteurization" in America). Pasteurization is the process of heating Liquids for the purpose of destroying bacteria, Protozoa, Molds and Yeasts The process was Pasteurization is the process of heating Liquids for the purpose of destroying bacteria, Protozoa, Molds and Yeasts The process was ^[8]

Beverage contamination led Pasteur to conclude that microorganisms infected animals and humans as well. A microorganism (also spelled micro organism or micro-organism and also called a microbe) is an Organism that is Microscopic (usually He proposed preventing the entry of microorganisms into the human body, leading Joseph Lister to develop antiseptic methods in surgery. Joseph Lister 1st Baron Lister, OM, FRS ( 5 April 1827 &ndash 10 February 1912) was an English surgeon Antiseptics (from Greek αντί - anti, '"against" + σηπτικός - septikos, "putrefactive" are antimicrobial Surgery (from the χειρουργική cheirourgikē, via chirurgiae meaning "hand work" is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental ^[6]

In 1865, two parasitic diseases called pébrine and flacherie were killing great numbers of silkworms at Alais (now Alès). Pébrine is a disease of Silkworms, which is caused by Microsporidian parasites mainly Nosema bombycis and to a lesser extent Variomorpha Flacherie (literally "flaccidness" is a disease of Silkworms caused by silkworms eating infected or contaminated Mulberry leaves Alès is a commune in southern France, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. Pasteur worked several years proving it was a microbe attacking silkworm eggs which caused the disease, and that eliminating this microbe within silkworm nurseries would eradicate the disease. ^[9][8]

Pasteur also discovered anaerobiosis, whereby some microorganisms can develop and live without air or oxygen, called the Pasteur effect. An anaerobic organism is any Organism that does not require Oxygen for growth and may even die in its presence Oxygen (from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys (acid literally "sharp" from the taste of acids and -γενής (-genēs (producer literally begetteris the The Pasteur effect is an inhibiting effect of Oxygen on the fermentation process ^[10]

Immunology and vaccination

Pasteur's later work on diseases included work on chicken cholera. Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera, is an infectious Gastroenteritis caused by the Bacterium During this work, a culture of the responsible bacteria had spoiled and failed to induce the disease in some chickens he was infecting with the disease. The Bacteria ( singular: bacterium) are a large group of unicellular Microorganisms Typically a few Micrometres in length bacteria have The chicken ( Gallus gallus, sometimes G gallus domesticus) is a domesticated Fowl which is traditionally believed to have descended from Upon reusing these healthy chickens, Pasteur discovered that he could not infect them, even with fresh bacteria; the weakened bacteria had caused the chickens to become immune to the disease, even though they had only caused mild symptoms. Immunity is a material term that describes a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid Infection, Disease, or other unwanted biological invasion ^[11][12]

His assistant Charles Chamberland (of French origin) had been instructed to inoculate the chickens after Pasteur went on holiday. Charles Chamberland ( March 12, 1851 - May 2, 1908) was a French Microbiologist from Chilly-le-Vignoble in the department of Jura Chamberland failed to do this, but instead went on holiday himself. On his return, the month old cultures made the chickens unwell, but instead of the infection being fatal, as it usually was, the chickens recovered completely. Chamberland assumed an error had been made, and wanted to discard the apparently faulty culture when Pasteur stopped him. Pasteur guessed the recovered animals now might be immune to the disease, as were the animals at Eure-et-Loir that had recovered from anthrax. Eure-et-Loir is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers ^[13]

In the 1870s, he applied this immunisation method to anthrax, which affected cattle, and aroused interest in combating other diseases. Anthrax is an acute Disease in humans and animals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis which is highly lethal in some forms Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family

Louis Pasteur in his laboratory, painting by A. Edelfeldt in 1885. Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt ( 21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Finnish painter.

Pasteur publicly claimed he had made the anthrax vaccine by exposing the bacillus to oxygen. His laboratory notebooks, now in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, in fact show Pasteur used the method of rival Jean-Joseph-Henri Toussaint, a Toulouse veterinary surgeon, to create the anthrax vaccine. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Jean Joseph Henri Toussaint ( April 30, 1847 - August 3, 1890) was a French veterinary physician who was born in the department of Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest A veterinary surgeon is a Veterinarian qualified in the UK and some other English -speaking countries (See Commonwealth of Nations and Commonwealth ^[14][4] This method used the oxidizing agent potassium dichromate. Potassium dichromate, K2Cr2O7 is a common inorganic chemical reagent most commonly used as an Oxidizing agent in various laboratory Pasteur's oxygen method did eventually produce a vaccine but only after he had been awarded a patent on the production of an anthrax vaccine. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an

The notion of a weak form of a disease causing immunity to the virulent version was not new; this had been known for a long time for smallpox. Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. Inoculation with smallpox was known to result in far less scarring, and greatly reduced mortality, in comparison to the naturally acquired disease. Edward Jenner had also discovered vaccination, using cowpox to give cross-immunity to smallpox (in 1796), and by Pasteur's time this had generally replaced the use of actual smallpox material in inoculation. Edward Jenner, FRS, ( May 17 1749 – January 26 1823) was an English scientist who studied his natural surroundings in Berkeley Vaccination is the administration of Antigenic material (the Vaccine) to produce immunity to a disease Cowpox is a Disease of the skin that is caused by a Virus known as the Cowpox virus. The difference between smallpox vaccination and cholera and anthrax vaccination was that the weakened form of the latter two disease organisms had been generated artificially, and so a naturally weak form of the disease organism did not need to be found. Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera, is an infectious Gastroenteritis caused by the Bacterium Anthrax is an acute Disease in humans and animals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis which is highly lethal in some forms

This discovery revolutionized work in infectious diseases, and Pasteur gave these artificially weakened diseases the generic name of vaccines, to honour Jenner's discovery. A vaccine is a biological preparation which is used to establish or improve immunity to a particular disease Pasteur produced the first vaccine for rabies by growing the virus in rabbits, and then weakening it by drying the affected nerve tissue. Rabies (from rabies “madness rage fury” Also known as “ hydrophobia ” is a viral Zoonotic neuroinvasive disease that

The rabies vaccine was initially created by Emile Roux, a French doctor and a colleague of Pasteur who had been working with a killed vaccine produced by desiccating the spinal cords of infected rabbits. Pierre Paul Emile Roux (b December 17, 1853, Confolens ( Charente) France, d The vaccine had only been tested on eleven dogs before its first human trial. ^[4][15]

This vaccine was first used on 9-year old Joseph Meister, on July 6, 1885, after the boy was badly mauled by a rabid dog. Joseph Meister ( February 21 1876 - June 16 1940) was the first person to be inoculated against Rabies by Louis Pasteur Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[4] This was done at some personal risk for Pasteur, since he was not a licensed physician and could have faced prosecution for treating the boy. However, left without treatment, the boy faced almost certain death from rabies. After consulting with colleagues, Pasteur decided to go ahead with the treatment. The treatment proved to be a spectacular success, with Meister avoiding the disease; thus, Pasteur was hailed as a hero and the legal matter was not pursued. The treatment's success laid the foundations for the manufacture of many other vaccines. The first of the Pasteur Institutes was also built on the basis of this achievement. The Pasteur Institute (Institut Pasteur is a French Non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of Biology, Micro-organisms Diseases ^[4]

Legal risk was not the only kind Pasteur undertook. In The Story of San Michele, Axel Munthe writes of the rabies vaccine research:

Louis Pasteur portrait in his later years.

Allegations of deception

In 1995, the centennial of the death of Louis Pasteur, the New York Times ran an article titled "Pasteur's Deceptions". After having thouroughly read Pasteur's lab notes the science historian Gerald L. Geison declared that Pasteur had given a misleading account of the experiment on anthrax vaccine at Pouilly-le-Fort^[16]. Gerald L Geison, historian born in Savanna Illinois, died at 58 in 2001

Honours and Final Days

Pasteur won the Leeuwenhoek medal, microbiology's highest honor, in 1895. The Leeuwenhoek Medal, established in 1877 by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, (KNAW in honor of the 17th- and 18th-century microscopist Microbiology (from Greek grc μῑκρος mīkros, "small" grc βίος bios, " Life " and grc -λογία ^[17]

He was a Grand Croix of the Legion of Honor–one of only 75 in all of France. He died in 1895, near Paris, from complications of a series of strokes that had started in 1868^[4]. He died while listening to the story of St Vincent de Paul, whom he admired and sought to emulate. St Vincent de Paul and Church of St Vincent de Paul redirect here ^[3][18] He was buried in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, but his remains were reinterred in a crypt in the Institut Pasteur, Paris, where he is remembered for his life-saving work. NotreDameFlyingButtressjpg|right|thumb|250px|Notre Dame de Paris Flying Buttress]] Notre Dame de Paris is a Gothic Cathedral on the eastern half of the The Pasteur Institute (Institut Pasteur is a French Non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of Biology, Micro-organisms Diseases ^[4] Both Institut Pasteur and Université Louis Pasteur were named after him. Louis Pasteur University ( Université Louis-Pasteur) also known as Strasbourg I or ULP is a large university in Strasbourg, Alsace Pasteur was ranked #12 in the 1978 edition of Michael H. Hart's controversial book, The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons in History. Michael H Hart (born April 28, 1932 in New York City) is an Astrophysicist who has also written three books on History and controversial The 100 A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History is a 1978 book by Michael H However, Pasteur was promoted to no. 11, replacing Karl Marx in the 1992 revised edition of the book. ^[6]

Statements

In his triumphal lecture at the Sorbonne in 1864, Pasteur said "Never will the doctrine of spontaneous generation recover from the mortal blow struck by this simple experiment" (referring to his swan-neck flask experiment wherein he proved that fermenting microorganisms would not form in a flask containing fermentable juice until an entry path was created for them). ^[4][19][20]

See also

• Pasteur Institute
• Modern medicine
• Infectious disease
• Infection control
• The Story of Louis Pasteur (a 1936 biographical film). The Pasteur Institute (Institut Pasteur is a French Non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of Biology, Micro-organisms Diseases All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, Death, and Disease. An infectious disease is a clinically evident Disease resulting from the presence of Pathogenic microbial agents including Pathogenic viruses Pathogenic Infection control and health care epidemiology is the discipline concerned with preventing the spread of infections within the health-care setting The Story of Louis Pasteur is a 1936 biographical film It starred Paul Muni as the renowned scientist.
• Louis Pasteur Middle School

References

Biographies

Influence on medicine and society

Footnotes

External links

• The Institut Pasteur - Foundation Dedicated to the prevention and treatment of diseases through biological research, education and public health activities
• The Pasteur Foundation - A US nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the mission of the Institut Pasteur in Paris. The Pasteur Institute (Institut Pasteur is a French Non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of Biology, Micro-organisms Diseases Full archive of newsletters available online containing examples of US Tributes to Louis Pasteur.
• Pasteur's Papers on the Germ Theory
• The Pasteur Galaxy
• Germ Theory and Its Applications to Medicine and Surgery, 1878
• LIFE magazine's top 100 events of the millennium: Germ theory of disease and Pasteur
• Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

The complete work of Pasteur can be freely downloaded on site of BNF (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica) (click on « Télécharger » (right, at the top)), with specific links:

• (French) Pasteur Œuvre tome 1 – Dissymétrie moléculairePDF
  
• (French) Pasteur Œuvre tome 2 – Fermentations et générations dites spontanéesPDF
  
• (French) Pasteur Œuvre tome 3 – Etude sur le vinaigre et le vinPDF
  
• (French) Pasteur Œuvre tome 4– Etude sur la maladie des vers à soiePDF
  
• (French) Pasteur Œuvre tome 5 – Etude sur la bièrePDF
  
• (French) Pasteur Œuvre tome 6 - Maladie virulentes. Virus. Vaccins, Prophylaxie de la ragePDF
  
• (French) Pasteur – Correspondances (1840-1895)PDF
  

Different articles published by Pasteur can be free downloaded on site of BNF (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica) in the differents books of « Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences » Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences (free downloaded).