The first time that I learned about Louis Pasteur was in relation to germ theory and pasteurization. I was unaware that he created a vaccine for anthrax and rabies until I watched the movie and we discussed him in this class. I think the lack of common knowledge about Pasteur’s accomplishments was emphasized by Dr. Alber when she had us name his biggest accomplishment before her presentation. During her presentation Dr. Alber emphasized the many other contributions Pasteur made, including discovering chiral compounds, lactic acid fermentation, and disproving spontaneous generation. I found it very interesting to learn of Pasteur’s rivalry with Robert Konch. It illustrated how science is affected by society and political forces.
It s sad that history reduces figures to just the iconic mythology sometimes (Ben Franklin and the kite, Darwin and the finches, Pasteur to pasteurization of milk). I m glad you are appreciating the broader looks at some of these individuals and their relationship to our modern world.