On July 6, 1886, 9 year old Joseph Meister and his mother appeared at Pasteur’s laboratory. Two days earlier the young boy had been bitten repeatedly by a rabid dog. He was so badly mauled that he could hardly walk. His mother appealed to Pasteur to treat her son. At the time Pasteur had treated about 40 dogs, most of whom resisted rabies. Could he risk treating this youth who faced certain death? Pasteur, after consultation with physician colleagues, and much trepidation treated the youth. Despite Pasteur’s fears, Meister made a perfect recovery and remained in fine health for the remainder of his life.

A few months later a second victim turned up. He was a young shepherd also bitten by a mad dog. Following reports of his successful treatments, the wild acclaim for Pasteur knew no bounds! Victims of dog and wolf bites from France, Russia, the United States poured into his laboratory for treatment. The newspapers and public followed these treatments and cures with intense interest. Pasteur became a hero and a legend. The Pasteur Institute funded by public and governmental subscriptions was built in Paris initially to treat victims of rabies who were coming to Pasteur’s laboratory in increasing numbers. Later, Pasteur Institutes were built, including 3 in the United States, to deal with human rabies and other diseases.

Rabies was the last major research of the master scientist. His health was failing and a paralysis of his left side from a serious stroke he suffered in his 46th year made his working in the laboratory increasingly difficult. Pasteur died in 1895 after suffering additional strokes. He was buried, a national hero, by the French Government. His funeral was attended by thousands of people. His remains, initially interred in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, was transferred to a permanent crypt in the Pasteur Institute, Paris.

In a tragic footnote to history, Joseph Meister, the first person publicly to receive the rabies vaccine, returned to the Pasteur Institute as an employee where he served for many years as Gatekeeper. In 1940, 45 years after his treatment for rabies that made medical history, he was ordered by the German occupiers of Paris to open Pasteur’s crypt. Rather than comply, Joseph Meister committed suicide!

Louis Pasteur did not have any children of his own.
Life and Times of Louis Pasteur