Pasteur

[ pa-stur; French pah-stœr ]

noun

1. Louis [loo, -ee, lwee], 1822–95, French chemist and bacteriologist.

Pasteur

/ pastœr /

noun

1. PasteurLouis18221895MFrenchSCIENCE: chemistSCIENCE: bacteriologist Louis (lwi). 1822–95, French chemist and bacteriologist. His discovery that the fermentation of milk and alcohol was caused by microorganisms resulted in the process of pasteurization. He also devised methods of immunization against anthrax and rabies and pioneered stereochemistry

Pasteur

/ păs-tûr′ /

1. French chemist who founded modern microbiology. His early work with fermentation led him to invent the process of pasteurization. Pasteur established that microorganisms cause communicable diseases and infections.

Other Words From

• Pas·teuri·an adjective

Biography

Through his experiments with bacteria in the 1860s, French chemist Louis Pasteur disproved the centuries-old belief that disease was caused by spontaneous generation, the idea that disease-causing parasites arise spontaneously in an organism. Pasteur demonstrated that the fermentation of wine to vinegar was caused by living agents that entered the wine from the air surrounding it, proving instead that microorganisms were able to reproduce. Drawing the conclusion that airborne agents could enter the bodies of humans and animals and cause disease, he then devoted his research to isolating the organisms that cause specific diseases and finding treatments to prevent them. He developed vaccines for anthrax, chicken cholera, and rabies. Pasteur's germ theory of disease was not immediately accepted, but thanks to the work of other pioneering scientists, such as Robert Koch, it eventually provided the foundation for modern branches of medicine such as microbiology, bacteriology, virology, and immunology. Pasteur is also known for developing pasteurization (originally for wine), a process of heating and rapidly cooling liquids that is used to kill disease-causing bacteria, particularly in dairy products.

Example Sentences

Pasteur was born 200 years ago this December, the most significant scientist birthday bicentennial since Charles Darwin’s in 2009.

From Science News

When peeking through his wine caskets, Pasteur found crystalline sediments of a tantalizing molecule.

From Singularity Hub 

No one person in history is more responsible than Pasteur for preserving human health and preventing unnecessary deaths.

From Science News

Pasteur’s understanding of microorganisms led to the recognition of their capacity to damage human health.

From Science News

Béchamp didn’t receive the funding, equipment, or acclaim that Pasteur did.

From Popular-Science

Her will dictated that the proceeds went to the Pasteur Institute in Paris for its pioneering fight against AIDS.

From The Daily Beast

Ledit Patriarche y alla, & avec vn truchement fit envers lui ce qui estoit de l'office d'un bon Pasteur.

From Project Gutenberg

Et de verit vn Pasteur est excusable qui manque faire chose dont il n'a connoissance.

From Project Gutenberg

This is done by pasteurization, a method named after the French bacteriologist Louis Pasteur.

From Project Gutenberg

Chief Pasteur walked over to where Mellon lay and took his stethoscope out of his little black bag.

From Project Gutenberg

Then came Pasteur, who repeated the experiments of his predecessors and elaborated and confirmed them.

From Project Gutenberg