Established by decree on June 4, 1887, the Institut Pasteur was opened on November 14, 1888 following Louis Pasteur's successful international appeal for funds. He now had the facilities to extend vaccination against rabies, continue research on infectious diseases and share the resulting knowledge.

Louis Pasteur, born December 27, 1822 in Dole, France, showed in his childhood and youth great abilities as an artistic painter; however by an age of 19, his interest changed toward science, and he moved to Paris to study chemistry and physics at École Normale Supérieure.