2022, the year of Louis Pasteur's bicentenary

As you know, the year 2022 will mark the bicentenary of the birth of Louis Pasteur.

On January 7, to get this commemorative year off to a good start and ensure that we are speaking with one voice, the stakeholders and partners in the bicentenary celebrations¹ issued a press release in which they formalized their cooperation and commitment to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Pasteur, a key figure in scientific progress and in the history of the French Third Republic. This was an opportunity to remember the person of Louis Pasteur, to emphasize the importance and reach of his legacy, and to present the various events and initiatives that are set to take place in 2022.

Louis Pasteur was born on December 27, 1822, and his lifelong dedication to making science a driver for human and social progress revolutionized the 19th century. A chemist, microbiologist, infectious disease specialist and university professor, Pasteur is famous for his systematic approach to scientific questions, which led him to refute the spontaneous generation theory. He also made key discoveries on fermentation that were recognized with the Jecker Prize from the French Academy of Sciences in 1861 and that led him to develop the celebrated pasteurization method and the rabies vaccine. In recognition of all of his achievements, Pasteur was elected as a member of various French academies and was awarded the Grand Croix of the Légion d'Honneur in 1881.

As a tribute to Louis Pasteur and his outstanding contribution to the French nation, 2022 will be a year of commemoration. Various events, workshops, conferences and exhibitions will raise awareness of Pasteur's achievements and draw attention to the key places that played a part in his life, starting with the towns of Dole and Arbois in his native region of Jura. The bicentenary year will culminate in December 2022 with a series of events held at the Institut de France, the Institut Pasteur and other prestigious organizations in connection with "France Memory," the dedicated department for national commemorations.

See the full press release

 

Focus on recent and upcoming events

 

Theatrical fantasy "On chemine avec Henner et Pasteur" (Walking alongside Henner and Pasteur) – January 27, January 29 and February 5 at the Henner Museum in Paris

 

Publication of a special issue entitled "Pasteur et les vétérinaires" (Pasteur and the veterinarians) by the French Veterinary Academy

 

Publication of the book "Pasteur à la plage : Le monde des microbes dans un transat" (Pasteur on the beach: the microbial universe in a deckchair) by Annick Perrot and Maxime Schwartz on May 25

 

 

For the full program and all the latest bicentenary news, go to pasteur2022.fr.

 

Listen to the Thursday January 6 edition of the radio program "La Terre au Carré" about Louis Pasteur

1-. The Institut de France (the French Academy of Sciences, the Académie française and France Memory), the Institut Pasteur, the French Academy of Medicine, the French Academy of Agriculture, the French Veterinary Academy, the École Normale Supérieure – PSL, the "La main à la pâte" Foundation, the Institut Pasteur de Lille and the University of Strasbourg

Dessin réalisé part l'artiste Fabrice Hyber