Louis Pasteur was born (1822 – 1895) in Dole, Eastern France. He was a conscientious and hard-working student, though not considered exceptional. One of his professors called him ‘mediocre’. He received a doctorate in 1847, and after obtaining posts at Strasbourg, Lille and Paris, he spent much time researching aspects of Chemistry. One key discovery related to research on tartrate acid showing the crystals contained a mirror image of right-handed and left-handed isomers. Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist who developed antidotes and cures to many dangerous illnesses such as anthrax and rabies. He also successfully invented a way to pasteurise milk and make it safe from tuberculosis. Pasteur also illustrated how germs grew from contamination and disproved the theory of spontaneous contamination.
