Pasteur

 Louis Pasture

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Although Pasteur was not the first person to develop the idea of an unseen thing causing disease, he is normally granted the title of the person who developed the germ theory of disease. Pasteur made his discovery by observing the silkworm industry. The silkworms in France had started to develop pebrine, he observed that all the infected worm and their eggs contained microorganisms. Pastuer went on to prove that if an uninfected worm were exposed to these microorganisms that they would develop the disease also. Pasteur fought to convince surgeons that germs existed and carried diseases, and dirty instruments and hands spread germs and therefore disease. Pasteur's pasteurization process kills germs and prevents the spread of disease. Pasture debunked the idea of spontaneous generation of disease, which up to this point was how patients were diagnosed and treated.

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Different sources and references on pasteurs life and other discoveries:

http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/louispasteur.html

http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/Louis_Pasteur.html

http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.louisville.edu/library/ekstrom/special/pasteur/cohn.html

 

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