Louis Pasteur
Virologist
Scientist who studied how germs spread infectious diseases and pioneered the process of vaccination. He founded the Pasteur Institute, a French foundation dedicated to the study of diseases and vaccines, in 1887.
He was a better artist than academic during his early years.
Pasteurization, the process of heating food and drink to kill microbes that cause spoilage, is named after him. He is regarded as one of the founders of bacteriology.
He married Marie Anne Laurent in 1849, and the couple had three daughters and one son.
He and Robert Koch are known as two of the fathers of bacteriology.