How Did Louis Pasteur Contribute To The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a time of great advancements marked by social and technological achievements that forever changed the fabric of time. Beginning in the 18th century to the mid-19th century societies experienced drastic changes that had a lasting impact on their lives both positive and negative. Technological advancements like the development of transport using the steam engine or the creation of the Bessemer Method which made steel out of iron are without a doubt major contributors to this era. While these advancements are arguably some of the most influential during the Industrial Revolution, it was the innovation and brilliant mind of the prominent French chemist Louis Pasteur that propelled medical advancements through the next
During his work on microorganisms, Pasteur began studies on chicken cholera. Using this bacteria, he injected it into chickens. After witnessing the chickens were asymptomatic, he then injected the same chickens as well as ones that were not previously exposed with the same bacteria. The chickens that had been exposed both times showed no signs of being sick however, the chickens that had only been exposed once, became sick and eventually died. It was this experiment that lead Pasteur to understand vaccinations. Without this breakthrough, millions of people would have succumbed to their deaths. Pasteur returned to his work on anthrax and produced his first vaccine. He also produced a rabies vaccine but was reluctant to test it on humans until a little boy was bit by a rabid dog. The youth was administered the rabies vaccine and returned home healthy. Pasteur eventually came to develop vaccines for smallpox, tuberculosis, and anthrax. He also pioneered the sterilization technique which is used in everyday medicine including surgery and surgical instruments. The advancements of Louis Pasteur were not only beneficial to the people in his time, but his techniques are used worldwide today in everyday