Which Paris lycée did Pasteur attend while preparing for the École Normale entrance exam?

Which Paris lycée did Pasteur attend while preparing for the École Normale entrance exam? The answer is Lycée Saint-Louis.

Pasteur went to Paris in 1842 after studying at the collège royal in Besançon. Living at the Pension Barbet, where he also worked as a répétiteur, he attended courses at the Lycée Saint-Louis while preparing for the competitive entrance examination to the École Normale Supérieure.

His Paris education combined formal study with lectures elsewhere. He attended chemistry lectures by Jean-Baptiste Dumas at the Sorbonne and pursued physics, mathematics, and crystallography. This preparation paid off: in 1843, he entered the École Normale Supérieure, ranking fourth in the entrance competition.

The lycée is easy to confuse with other famous Paris schools such as Louis-le-Grand, Condorcet, and Henri-IV. Saint-Louis was especially associated with advanced preparation for higher education and later became famous for its scientific classes. Pasteur’s time there helped bridge his provincial schooling and his professional scientific career.