408 SOME GREAT NAMES IN BIOLOGY 



.3 to every 1,000,000 living persons. This shows that the disease is 

 practically v/iped out in England. An interesting comparison 

 might be made between these figures and those showing the 

 occurrence of the disease in parts of Russia where vaccination is not 

 practiced. There, thousands of deaths from smallpox occur an- 

 nually. During the winter of 1913-1914 an epidemic of smallpox 

 with more than 250 cases broke out in the city of Niagara Falls. 

 This epidemic appears to have been the result of a campaign con- 

 ducted previously by people who did not believe in vaccination. 

 In cities and towns near by, where vaccination was practiced, no 

 cases of smallpox occurred. During the year 1925 there were 

 more than 9000 cases of smallpox in California ; and these cases 

 were not centered among the Mexicans and other foreigners but 

 largely among young people of school age whose parents did not 

 believe in vaccination. Since some stubborn opposition to vac- 

 cination is found nowadays, Jenner naturally had a much harder 

 battle in his day. He also had many failures, due to the imperfect 

 methods of his time. The full worth of his discovery was not ap- 

 preciated until long after his death, which occurred in 1823. 



Louis Pasteur. — The man who, from a biological point of view, 

 did more than any other to benefit mankind directly was Louis 

 Pasteur. Born in 1822, in the mountains near the border of north- 

 eastern France, he spent the early part of his life as a normal coun- 

 try boy, fond of fishing and not very partial to study. He inherited 

 from his father, however, a fine character and a grim determination, 

 so that when he became interested in scientific pursuits he settled 

 down to work with enthusiasm and energy. 



At the age of twenty-five he became well known throughout 

 France as a chemist. Shortly after this he became interested in 

 bacteria, and it was in the field of bacteriology that he became most 

 famous. First as professor at Strasbourg, then at Lille, and later 

 as director of scientific studies in the Ecole Normale at Paris, he 

 showed his interest in the application of his discoveries to human 

 welfare. 



In 1857 Pasteur showed that bacteria are connected with the 

 process of fermentation, and that it is not a purely chemical 

 process as had been thought up to that time. This discovery 

 led to very practical ends, for France was a great wine-producing 



