Charcot, Jean Martin 1825-93
French pathologist and neurologist

Born and educated in Paris, he was appointed to a position at Salp�tri�re Hospital, and eventually became the most eminent French physician of his day. He turned the Salp�tri�re into an international centre for the investigation of neurological diseases, himself making important observations on multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic sclerosis and familial muscular atrophy. During the last twenty years of his life, he began using hypnosis in the diagnosis and treatment of functional disorders. His lectures stimulated the young Sigmund Freud, who also translated some of Charcot's work into German.

Bibliography: A R Owen, Hysteria, Hypnosis, and Healing: The Work of J M Charcot (1970)