Louis Pasteur Accomplishments

The definition of the greatest scientist could be interpreted many ways. One of the many ways it could be seen as is someone with assiduous work habits who has made not just ephemeral contributions to the scientific community, but discoveries that have lasted through time and are still remembered to date. Dedication to one’s work and being diligent is a key part of anyone with such great success, especially scientists who must test and retest their theories. A scientist whose findings are significant enough to be remembered years later should be considered great, and in 1822, an intelligent boy under the name of Louis Pasteur was born in Dole, France. As he aged, he developed into one of the most brilliant scientists in all of history. He

One instance of this was when Pasteur was named director of Scientific Studies at École Normale Supérieure in 1857 (“Louis Pasteur”). This title, given to him in recognition of his research, was an honor to receive. Also because of his reputation, silk industry representatives sought Pasteur out specifically for his help in curing the silkworm disease in 1862 (“Louis Pasteur”). His reputation drew forth those who needed him. The French Minister of Agriculture requested Pasteur’s help in developing an anthrax vaccine. Once again, someone had come to Pasteur looking for his help because of his fame and reputation as an exceptional scientist. Afterwards, the French government honored him and those who helped him for their achievements in anthrax treatment. This blatantly makes his renowned reputation

Louis Pasteur did not follow the standard and most widely accepted scientific method in his experiments, which involves gathering data to support a theory. He sometimes made up evidence to back his claims when he had no genuine data (Miller). This kind of work would be found unacceptable in most scientific communities today. Pasteur’s public claims and actual experiments were not always consistent with each other either. Because of this, he did not share his notebooks with the public (Miller). He wanted to become famous and gain more funding, so he based his public statements on this desire. Twisting words to get money and fame is a controversial method of obtaining things. Pasteur was also licentious at times and some of his work raised ethical concerns. He used a method to vaccinate Meister that he claimed had been tested on 50 dogs, but had not been extensively tested. The boy’s safety was questionable; vaccine could have killed him. However, he would have died anyway if he had not been treated at all, making Pasteur’s ethics seem irrelevant. While Pasteur didn’t always follow scientific method, other scientists by no means always follow the method meticulously (Miller). Pasteur’s risk-taking allowed for many of his discoveries that might not have happened if he followed strict protocol, and his daring behavior allowed for him to reach his potential as the greatest scientist in European