Great Scientists Speak Again: Louis Pasteur

Prof. Richard M. Eakin, Dept. of Zoology, UC Berkeley presents, through impersonation the discoveries, method of study, theories, and personal philosophy of a great scientist in the words, dress, and manner of this time. Prof. Eakin portrays Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), the great French bacteriologist, who was eulogized at the time of his death as the most nearly perfect man to enter the kingdom of science. 'Pasteur' uses the diagrams on kerosene lamp, bottles of French wines, and specially brown flasks as he discusses right-handed and left-handed molecules of tartaric acid, fermentation, spontaneous generation, and different kinds of disease-producing bacteria. To illustrate immunity and the use of a vaccine, 'Pasteur' tells of saving a boy, Joseph Meister, from death by rabies. He concludes with a strong plea that scientists be concerned about social problems and contribute to their solution.