Louis Pasteur: A Modern-Day Scientist

In the summer of 1885, nine-year-old Joseph Meister was a very ill little boy. He had been attacked by a sick dog that had rabies, a very dangerous disease. His doctor tried to help him, but there was no cure for rabies at that time. The doctor told Joseph's parents that perhaps there was one man who could save Joseph's life. His name was Louis Pasteur.

When Pasteur was a young boy in France, he was very curious. Louis was especially interested in medicine, so he spent many hours every day with the chemist who lived in his small town. The chemist sold pills, cough syrups, and other types of medicine, just as modern pharmacists, or druggists, do today. At that time, the chemist had to make all the medicines himself. Young Louis enjoyed watching the chemist as he worked and listening to him help the customers who came to him each day. Pasteur decided that one day he wanted to help people, too.

As a schoolboy, Pasteur worked slowly and carefully. At first, his teachers thought that young Louis might be a slow learner. Through elementary school, high school, and college, Pasteur worked the same thoughtful way. In fact, he was not a slow learner, but a very intelligent young man. He became a college professor and a scientist, and he continued to work very carefully.

Because of Pasteur's patient methods, he was able to make many observations about germs. For example, germs cause meat and milk to spoil. They also cause many serious diseases. Pasteur was studying about the germs that cause rabies when Joseph Meister became ill. In fact, Pasteur believed he had a cure for rabies, but he had never given it to a person before. At first, Pasteur was afraid to treat Joseph, but his doctor said the child was dying. Pasteur gave Joseph an inoculation, or shot, every day for ten days. Slowly, the child became better. Pasteur's vaccination cured him.

During his lifetime, Pasteur studied germs and learned how they cause diseases in animals and people. He developed vaccinations that prevent many of these illnesses. He also invented the process of pasteurization, which stops foods such as milk from spoiling. Louis Pasteur died on September 28, 1895, at the age of 72. Modern medicine continues to benefit from the work of this great scientist.