Louis Pasteur 1822–95, French chemist. He taught at Dijon, Strasbourg, and Lille, and in Paris at the École normale supérieure and the Sorbonne (1867–89). His early research consisted of chemical studies of the tartrates, in which he discovered (1848) molecular dissymmetry. He then began work on fermentation, which had important results. His experiments with bacteria conclusively disproved (1862) the theory of spontaneous generation and led to the germ theory of infection. His work on wine, vinegar, and beer resulted in the development of the process of pasteurization .—continue at Columbia Encyclopedia Introductory Note from the Harvard Classics. ) Pronunciation: p from The American Heritage®
WORKS
Scientific Papers
These papers describing the process of fermentation and the discovery of germs would revolutionize medicine. From Harvard Classics
s-tûr´, pä-stœr´r from 
