9781422277652

Early Life and Education Jean Joseph Pasteur, the father of Louis, was born in Besançon, France, in 1791. He became a tanner, like his father and grandfather before him. He was conscripted into the army in the Peninsular War of 1811. After the war, he returned peaceably to his work at Besançon. He was then a reserved man, careful and slow in his dealings with people. He fell in love with a young girl, whose character, in contrast, was active, enthusiastic, and full of imagination. The couple married in 1815, and migrated to Dôle, France. Their first child lived for only a few months. In 1818 they had a daughter, and four years later, on Friday, December 27, 1822, Louis Pasteur was born. Two more daughters followed. For family reasons Jean Joseph Pasteur had to leave Dôle to live in Marnoz, France, where he again set up as a tanner. However, the family did not stay

A plaque outside this house on the Rue des Tanners (“Street of the Tanners”) in Dôle marks it as the birthplace of Louis Pasteur. The genius of science was born here on December 27, 1822.

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