Introduction This story is about a man named Louis Pasteur who believed in himself and believed in the existence

of germs. Because he believed in himself he managed to save the life of a young boy who was bitten by a rabid dog, foaming at the mouth with white froth. Louis knew that there was an invisible enemy and eventually he found it. All because he believed in himself! Biography Pasteur was born in 1822 in Dole, France. As a young man, Pasteur studied at the Ecole Normale in Paris. In 1843 he became research chemist. He developed such a reputation that in 1854, aged just 32, he became Dean of the Faculty of Science at the the University of Lille. His Work Pasteur became convinced that the liquids he had studied were being contaminated with microbes that floated in the air. He used a microscope to find this. Pasteurization Pasteur continued his work on this theme by studying other liquids such as milk, wine and vinegar. Many scientists at that time believed in 'Spontaneous Generation'. That organisms were the result of decaying matter! ( i.e. When things get rotten then virus and bacteria are born from that.) Pasteur was vilified in public but rather than give up, he decided to fight for what he believed in! He was able to prove that the air contained living organisms and that these microbes produced putrefaction. He also proved that these microbes could be killed by the heating of the liquid. This is called 'Pasteurization' after the great scientist and is even used today to keep our milk safe. In 1861 Pasteur published his 'Germ Theory'. Germs really did cause disease! Diseases In 1865 he worked on the first disease. It was not on human beings but silk worms. In a year he found that the disease was caused by tiny living organisms. Pasteur was then convinced that even other animals and human beings could be attacked by microbes. Pasteur suffered a number of difficulties during his lifetime. He was vindicated by people, he lost two of his daughters to typhoid and tumour. He also suffered a stroke and got paralysis. But this did not stop him he even worked when he was ill with the help of his assistant Emille. Eventually Pasteur would solve such scientific mysteries as the generation of ailments like rabies, anthrax and chicken cholera, and contributing to the world's first and most significant vaccines. Pasteur is also credited for installing physicians' adoption of the rules of antiseptic medicine and surgery. Final Pasteur died in 1895 after suffering multiple strokes. He was buried, a national hero, by the French Government in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. But to us he is a world Hero forever.