2015-12-28 Mon

Louis Pasteur, the French chemist and microbiologist known for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, was born on December 28, 1822. He is remembered for his discoveries which save countless lives, even today. He created the first rabies and anthrax vaccines and is widely known for inventing the technique to treat milk and wine to stop bacterial contamination; a process, today, known as Pasteurization. He is popularly known as the ‘Father of Microbiology’ due to his extensive contribution to the field.

Louis Pasteur is featured on a 5-franc bank note. The obverse depicts a bust of Pasteur and the Pasteur Institute in Paris while the reverse depicts a bust of Louis Pasteur along with lab equipment, animals used in Pasteur’s experiments – rabbit, sheep, and chicken – and Truffot’s statue of a 15-year shepherd, Jean-Baptiste Jupille subduing a rabies-infected dog/wolf in front of the Pasteur Institute. The watermark on the note is a profile portrait of Louis Pasteur. The note is Intaglio printed and was issued by the Bank of France on May 6th, 1966 and has been demonetized now.

Louis Pasteur is also featured on stamps issued by numerous countries over the world including India. The Indian stamp is olive yellow and black in colour and was issued in 1995 to mark the centenary of Pasteur’s death anniversary.

Along with stamps and paper money, Pasteur is depicted on 2-franc and 100-franc commemorative coins issued by France to mark his centenary death anniversary. The 2-franc coin is made of Nickel while the 100-franc coin is made from silver. Both are collectors’ items today.