Louis Pasteur

The founder of microbiology and the scientist who saved more human lives than anyone in history. His germ theory of disease demolished the miasma theory; his pasteurisation process saved the French wine and beer industries; his vaccines for chicken cholera, anthrax, and rabies established the principle of immunisation. He worked through the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, returning military honours from Prussia in protest.

• Roles: Scientist, Chemist, Microbiologist