Louis Pasteur Trivia Quiz

Answer: France

Pasteur was born on 27 December1822, in Dole, which is in the east of France. He was the third child born to his parents and his father worked as a tanner. The family was not wealthy. Pasteur was not particularly academically inclined as a child, and is said to have suffered from both dyslexia (causing reading difficulties) and dysgraphia (struggles with writing).

Answer: Art

Possibly because of his problems with both reading and writing, Pasteur's early interests lay in painting and drawing rather than more academic subjects. He often created sketches of his parents, with friends and neighbours also giving him material. In his teens he obtained a degree in philosophy before studying science, mathematics and chemistry. By 1848 he was a professor of chemistry at Strasbourg's university where he met his wife, Marie, who worked with him as his assistant.

Answer: Robert Koch

Although doctors and scientists had previously proposed theories that diseases could be caused by 'germs', the miasma, or 'bad air', theory was still dominant. Pasteur revolutionised the scientific and medical worlds by his work on microorganisms, but he wasn't alone. In Germany, Robert Koch became the first scientist to grow bacteria in an early version of the Petri dish, and his contributions to microbiology are widely recognised. In England, Joseph Lister was another pioneer.

Of the others, Lavoisier was long dead, a victim of the French Revolution. Fleming was a child, with his breakthroughs happening in the twentieth century. Faraday was a contemporary but his work was in the area of electromagnetics.

Answer: Typhoid

All four of these diseases were a leading cause of death at the time, since the causes of them were not well known and there were few treatments available, but it was typhoid fever that devastated the family. Jeanne died first, in 1859, at age 9, Camille died in 1865 at age 2, and Cecile died at age 13 the following year.

The family's other two children, their only son Jean Baptiste, and Marie Louise both lived into their seventies.

Answer: Cheese production

Bacteria were proving a huge challenge to the industries of alcohol production, including beer and wine, and disease was coming close to wiping out the silkworms needed for silk production. Pasteur rose to the challenge of working out what was happening in all of these industries. He studied fermentation, and identified the causes of spoilage in both wine and beer.

The silk industry was also close to collapse in the mid-nineteenth century, and Pasteur turned his talents to working out why. Silkworm eggs were being infected and Pasteur turned himself into an expert on the breeding of silkworms - the studies also advanced his own knowledge of the causes of disease. He developed a method, still in use in modern times, of separating healthy eggs from infected ones.

Answer: Heating

Pasteur's research enabled him to identify that microorganisms are the cause of spoilage in foods. In the 1860s, he established that heating was the way to kill off bacteria. By experimenting, he discovered the precise temperatures and timings needed.

The process was given the name of pasteurisation early on, during Pasteur's lifetime. The process is still used in modern times. Some variations include UHT (Ultra High Temperature) which uses a higher temperature then rapid cooling. This treatment gives milk, in particular, a longer usable life, even without refrigeration.

Answer: Stroke

The stroke may have affected his body, but Pasteur's mind remained as sharp as ever. A major political change also took place at much the same time when Emperor Louis-Napoleon was overthrown and the monarchy was abolished. He had already been negotiating with the Emperor for a dedicated laboratory and the time (and money) to devote to his study of diseases.

The new regime granted these requirements, enabling Pasteur to turn to even greater achievements - vaccinations against deadly diseases.

Answer: Chicken cholera

In his later years, Pasteur turned his attention to vaccines. Much of the work needed was carried out by his assistants, due to his physical problems, but Pasteur directed the work. Although a smallpox vaccine had already been developed, thanks to Edward Jenner, the reasons for its effectiveness were little understood.

Pasteur began his research by investigating chicken cholera, with mixed results and a rare failure. Avian cholera remains a disease which kills many birds. The research did yield enough information for Pasteur to develop a successful vaccine against anthrax, a disease which affected cattle and was transmitted the humans. Pasteur's name is mostly associated with the rabies vaccine, although it seems most of the credit should go to his colleague, Emile Roux. The success of the vaccine, which could cure rabies not just prevent it, made Pasteur a hero. Roux himself went on to make his name as a founder of immunology.

Answer: before

Not only was Pasteur very much still alive, he was the founder of the Institute when it was set up in 1887. It officially opened the following year and is a non-profit, charitable organisation dedicated to the study and prevention of diseases.

Pasteur's own work was among the earliest to be recognised, but the institute has also been instrumental in discovering the causes and treatments for diphtheria, bubonic plague, poliomyelitis and, more recently, the causes of AIDS (HIV). Although the original institute was founded in Paris, in the 2020s there are numerous research laboratories around the world covering all continents apart from Oceania and Antarctica. Many Nobel laureates have been recognised as a result of the work carried out at the Institute.

Answer: False

Alfred Nobel died in 1896, with his will leaving instructions to create awards for those (in various fields) who contributed to 'the greatest benefit to mankind'. The first awards were made in 1901, but Pasteur died in 1895 - there seems little doubt that he would have been recognised for his outstanding contributions had he lived long enough.

Pasteur did receive much recognition in his lifetime. He was elected to the Académie de Médecine in 1873, even though there was some resistance to his theories due to his lack of medical training. In 1882 he became a member of the Académie Française. Pasteur had already been awarded the Legion of Honour, in 1853, with subsequent rising through the ranks of the award through the remainder of his life. Many foreign countries also gave him awards, including the UK and USA.