March 12th
- A French bacteriologist who developed the first pressure steam sterilizer, called Chamberland’s autoclave.
- When Henry Bastian (who believed in spontaneous generation) disputed Louis Pasteur’s claim that boiling killed all bacteria, Pasteur asked Chamberland, then his assistant, to study sterilization.
- Chamberland found there were some heat-resistant spores and killing them required maintaining 115ºC.
