Crossword Genius

Former regret about famous chemist (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pasteur

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'famous chemist' is the definition.
'Pasteur' can be an answer for 'chemist' (Pasteur is an example). I am unsure of the 'famous' bit.

'former regret about' is the wordplay.
'former' becomes 'past' (similar in meaning).
'regret' becomes 'rue' (to rue something is to regret it).
'about' says the letters should be written backwards.
'rue' in reverse letter order is 'eur'.
'past'+'eur'='PASTEUR'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pasteur that I've seen before include "Louis -, nineteenth century French chemist" , "He invented a method to stop milk causing disease" , "Louis ---, Fr. bacteriologist" , "Louis --, French bacteriologist" , "Pioneer immunologist" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app