Portal:Chemistry/Selected biography/6

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) was a French microbiologist and chemist. He was the first to demonstrate chirality of molecules, using tartaric acid crystals, but this achievement is often overlooked in favor of his more famous work in biology and medicine. He is best known for demonstrating how to prevent milk and wine from going sour, a process which came to be called pasteurization. His experiments confirmed the germ theory of disease, and he created the first vaccine for rabies. He became one of the main founders of bacteriology, the other major figure being Robert Koch. Pasteur also discovered anaerobiosis, whereby some microorganisms can develop and live without air or oxygen.