Louis Pasteur (1822–1895), a French chemist, was one of the most important scientists
in history. Many of his accomplishments and insights set the stage for modern medicine.
Pasteur increased our understanding of disease by proving the theory of spontaneous
generation—the belief that some life-forms, such as insects and microbes, could suddenly
materialize from nonliving matter—wasn’t true. For example, it was thought
that the mold that grew on spoiled milk just appeare there from nothing. People had believed in
spontaneous generation since ancient times, and although others before
Pasteur had raised objections, Pasteur’s experiments were the most convincing. He
proved that molds, fungi, and bacteria were actually present in
the air and that they wouldn’t grow on anything they couldn’t touch.
Not only did Pasteur show that germs were present everywhere,
but he also pioneered ways to get rid of them. He
proved that boiling liquids like wine and milk killed any germs
that were present, and then he demonstrated that quickly sealing
them off from air kept new germs from growing. This
process is called pasteurization, and it’s still used today. He
also suggested that surgeons boil their instruments before
doing surgery, but the idea didn’t catch on until later.
Pasteur’s work helped to convince other scientists that germs
were the cause of contagious diseases. Among his many
accomplishments, Pasteur pioneered vaccines for chicken pox,
cholera, diphtheria, anthrax, and rabies.
Physician Girolamo Fracastoro in the year 1546. But his idea didn’t
catch on. For one thing, nobody could see these germs—the microscope
hadn’t been invented yet! And by the time scientists finally
began to study bacteria and viruses, Fracastoro’s work had been mostly forgotten
The “germ theory” of disease was really popularized by the French
chemist Louis Pasteur in the 19th century. By then, Pasteur was able
to show that the presence of germs was linked to certain illnesses.
Once this idea was established, scientists started identifying the
bacteria and viruses that cause common diseases. As technology
improved, so did our ability to find, categorize, and study these
microscopic creatures .
Today, scientists have identified many of the germs that cause
known human diseases—even the ones that we can’t cure. Obviously,
knowing what causes an illness is incredibly important to doctors
and patients who are trying to fight it, and scientists are working
very hard to figure out the nature of more illnesses—like multiple
sclerosis—so they can identify and help eliminate the viruses
that may cause them.
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