Pasteur Patent
This petition for a patent was signed by Louis Pasteur on April 4, 1873. Pasteur submitted this patent as an improvement in the manufacture of beer and yeast. This patent was the first patent covering a micro-organism, as well as a new process for making beer. Pasteur is well known for many other scientific advances, including a process for killing germs in milk and beer, now known as pasteurization, and vaccines for anthrax and rabies.
Louis Pasteur’s patent for an Improvement in the Manufacture of Beer and Yeast is one of around five million patents in the holdings of the National Archives at Kansas City. Including utility patents, design patents, and even plant patents, the records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office document a wealth of creativity and innovation in inventions. The National Archives at Kansas City is home to all of the accessioned holdings in Record Group 241.
Patent Case File No. 141,072, Improvement in the Manufacture of Beer and Yeast, Inventor: Louis Pasteur, dated April 4, 1873. National Archives Identifier: 70663291
View and download the Petition for the Patent on the National Archives Catalog. You can explore more records held in the National Archives at Kansas City through the National Archives Catalog or by visiting our research room in person. These records are located in Record Group 241: Records of the Patent and Trademark Office, Series: Utility Patent Case Files, January 1, 1836–December 31, 1978.