1822–1895 · Scientists

Louis Pasteur signature

French chemist and microbiologist, 1822–1895

Inspired by Louis Pasteur’s signature

A rendering in a modern handwriting font, made for this page. It is not the real signature; see where to view the original below. Where to see the original ↓Style: Mr De Haviland, slant 4°

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Mr De Haviland · 4°

Who Louis Pasteur was

Louis Pasteur was born in Dole, in eastern France, in 1822 and died near Paris in 1895. A chemist by training, he showed that fermentation and many diseases are caused by microorganisms, developed pasteurisation, and produced vaccines against anthrax and rabies. The Institut Pasteur in Paris was founded in his honour in 1887–88.

He was a public figure for decades, writing to scientists, officials, admirers and friends.

The story of the signature

Pasteur usually signed “L. Pasteur”, initial and surname. The signature appears on letters to colleagues and to figures well beyond science, such as the composer Camille Saint-Saëns: one of Pasteur’s letters to him is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

His laboratory notebooks were another matter. Pasteur asked his family not to show them to anyone, and they stayed private for decades. His grandson, Louis Pasteur Vallery-Radot, eventually gave them to the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and in the 1970s they became available to researchers. The historian Gerald Geison’s book The Private Science of Louis Pasteur (1995), based on them, argued that some of Pasteur’s public accounts differed from what his notebooks recorded, and started a lasting debate.

What makes it distinctive

Initial plus surname

“L. Pasteur”, brief and formal, the form on most of his letters.

Public and private

A signature for the world, and notebooks he kept from view.

Beyond the laboratory

The same signature closed letters to scientists, officials and artists alike.

How to give your signature a similar feel

In the signature generator Type tab, try Mr De Haviland or Dancing Script with a Slant of about 4° for a quick, personal hand.
Use initial plus surname for a signature that is formal, short and easy to repeat.
If you keep research notes, sign and date each page in the Draw tab or on paper. It is good scientific practice, and it is what historians rely on later.
Choose black ink and save a transparent PNG for reports and letters.

Where to see the original

These links lead to archives, libraries, museums and Wikimedia Commons.

Questions about Louis Pasteur’s signature

How did Louis Pasteur sign his name?

Usually “L. Pasteur”, with his first name reduced to an initial.

Why were Pasteur’s notebooks kept private?

Pasteur asked his family not to show them. His grandson later gave them to the Bibliothèque nationale de France, where researchers have been able to study them since the 1970s.

What did the notebooks reveal?

Historian Gerald Geison argued in 1995 that some of Pasteur’s published accounts differed from his private records, which led to a long debate about his methods.