A pioneering scientist and a committed global investigator
Félix d’Hérelle applied a single-minded enthusiasm and scientific thoroughness to every new challenge. Records from his first assignment on behalf of the Government of Canada to explore the feasibility of fermenting and distilling maple syrup into “whiskey” were meticulous and reveal the qualities of a great scientist.
More significantly, Dr. d’Hérelle is credited for two brilliant discoveries that together signify a scientific revolution. Considered an “outsider” in science, this vagabond scholar set up a lab in his Montreal home at age 24 and went on to discover a biological control of pests and a cure for bacterial infections using bacteria-eating bacteriophages. Félix D’Hérelle’s work led to the founding of the “Phage Group” of scientists.