Louis Pasteur was 72 years old when he died in 1895. He was born on 27 December 1822 in Dole, in France’s Jura region, and died on 28 September 1895 near Paris. Because his death came almost three months before his 73rd birthday, he had completed 72 years of life.
Pasteur’s final years followed a remarkable scientific career spanning chemistry, fermentation, microbiology, and medicine. His work helped establish germ theory, led to methods for preventing wine and milk from spoiling, and produced vaccines against diseases including anthrax and rabies.
A common mistake is to subtract 1822 from 1895 and give 73. That calculation ignores whether the birthday had occurred in the year of death. Pasteur’s remains were eventually placed in a crypt beneath the Pasteur Institute in Paris, the institution founded during his lifetime.