On This Day in Science History - July 6

On July 6, 1885, Louis Pasteur tested his rabies vaccine on Joseph Meister. Meister was a nine year old boy who had been badly bitten by a rabid dog and was facing the near certainty of developing the disease himself. Pasteur had been developing a vaccine for rabies from rabbits. He grew the virus in rabbits and removed the infected spinal tissue. The tissue was then dried out to weaken the virus. The weakened virus was injected into the boy and he never developed the disease. This new treatment would save many people from a common and potentially fatal disease.

Joseph would grow up to become the caretaker of the Pasteur Institute until his death in 1940. Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.