may 5, 1879 - Louis Pasteur

Description:

After losing his daughter to typhoid, Pasteur became determined to discover what caused disease and after studying fermentation of beer and working for the wine industry he carried out his swan necked flask experiment and discovered germ theory.

Pasteur worked in a French funded laboratory on disease (rivalry with Koch after France lost a war with Germany) and despite suffering a stroke he continued to defend germ theory.

1879- developed vaccines for chicken cholera (crippling the poultry industry) and anthrax and while investigating chicken cholera Chamberland (his assistant) accidentally used a weakened version which lead to Pasteur proving how vaccines worked.

1880 - with Chamberland and Roux, he developed a rabies vaccine and later pubically displayed it.

Added to timeline:

Date: