Portraits and biographies

Alibert was born in Villefranche de Rouergue (South West France). Graduated in the Paris school of Medicine (refounded in 1794), then appointed as head of a medical department in Saint-Louis hospital in 1801 (called hospice du Nord according to the revolutionnary vocabulary), Alibert specialized his activities in dermatology.
Alibert's lectures, in open air during the sunny days under the lime trees in the yard of Saint-Louis hospital, became very famous and fashionable. He described several dermatoses including the princeps observation of mycosis fongoides. Alibert was the author of many textbooks and in-folios superbly illustrated by colour engravings.
Alibert proposed to classify the cutaneous diseases according the method previously created by the botanists notably Bernard de Jussieu and his best known classification took the appearance of the famous "Tree of dermatoses".
At the end of his carreer, Alibert became the personal physician of the kings Louis XVIII and Charles X and was ennobled as a baron.

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Born in Laroque-Thimbault, (small town in south-west France), Brocq was graduated in 1878 as Interne des Hôpitaux de Paris (1^st in his promotion). From 1906 untill 1921, Brocq was head of a medical department in Saint-Louis hospital.
He brought definite contributions to dermatology, describing the pseudo-pelade, the keratosis pilaris, the parapsoriasis and the bullous dermatitis he described in 1888 (Duhring-Brocq's disease, now called pemphigoid).
His career in the hospital was commemorated by the creation of a ward named after him in Saint-Louis 1933. He invented a tar oinment widely used for the treatment of psoriasis. In 1900, Brocq brought a very important contribution to the "Pratique Dermatologique", treatise in 4 volumes published by the French school of dermatology.

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Interne des Hôpitaux de Paris in 1823, Cazenave was the favourite pupil of Laurent Biett who introduced in France the diagnostic method of the cutaneous diseases developped by Willan and Bateman in England. Based upon the elementary lesions, this method that improved the ability of the physicians to make clinical diagnosis in dermatology was published by Cazenave in 1828.
Prefering to classify the cutaneous diseases according to a so-called natural method, Alibert regarded the Willan-Biett's classification as artificial.
From 1843 and 1852, Cazenave was the editor -and probably the only writer- of the first French journal of dermatology, the Annales des Maladies de la Peau et de la Syphilis.
Cazenave described the first case of lupus erythematosus in 1850 and of pemphigus foliaceus in 1844.

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Interne des Hôpitaux de Paris in 1816, physician of the Paris Hospitals in 1834, Devergie succeeded to Biett in 1840 in Saint-Louis where he made all his career until he retired in 1867. In 1854, Devergie published a textbook entitled "Traité pratique des maladies de la peau" and in 1857 published the first case of pityriasis rubra pilaris.
In 1874, Devergie was elected as President of the Academy of Medicine. When he retired, Devergie gave the Assistance publique (administration of the hospitals in Paris) his personnal collection of dermatological watercolours that allowed to create the first museum of Saint-Louis hospital later enriched by the wax moulages.

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Interne des Hôpitaux de Paris in 1881, graduated M.D. with a thesis on tinea capitis, Feulard became in 1886 assistant of Alfred Fournier, Professeur of Dermatology.
In 1886, Feulard and the heads of medical and surgical departments of Saint-Louis hospital, founded the first dermatological library of this hospital, now called Henri-Feulard library.
In 1890, Feulard was appointed as editor-in-chief of the Annales of Dermatology founded in 1868 by Doyon. Feulard set the wax moulages museum and catalogued the collection. In 1889, he was chosen as the Secretary of the first World Congress of dermatology organized in the Museum of Saint-Louis hospital.
Feulard tragically died in the burning of the Charity Bazar on mai 4th 1897.

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Interne des Hôpitaux de Paris in 1844, Lailler was head of a dermatological department in Saint-Louis hospital from 1863 until 1887.
In 1863, Lailler discovered Jules Baretta, moulageur and creator of the wax moulages collection in Saint-Louis. In 1874, Lailler founded in his department a library for the students.
In 1878, he created a special school devoted to the teaching of children treated for tinea capitis previously forced to leave school because of contagiosity. The building where this school ("Ecole Lailler") stood is still visible today.
In 1891, he was elected as President of the French Society of Dermatology.

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As he was was looking for an artist capable to mould skin diseases in Saint-Louis hospital, Lailler "discovered" in 1863 Baretta, a gifted craftsman producing artifical fruits in a small parisian street (Passage Jouffroy).
He was offered by Lailler to work in Saint-Louis and made his first dermatological moulage in 1867 (lupus erythematosus).
Appointed as the caretaker of the Museum in Saint-Louis Hospital, Baretta made more than 2000 wax moulages of skin diseases which a marvelous technique he always kept as a professionnal secret.
The international congress attendees of the 1889 meeting expressed their admiration for the artistic quality and vividity of Baretta's moulages. After returning in their countries some congressmen decided to set such a collection in their own departments.
In 1889, Jules Baretta who had so much contributed to the prestige of french dermatology was honored by the Legion of Honour.

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Born in Budapest in a french family of protestant origins, Darier became Interne des Hôpitaux de Paris in 1880 and head of a medical department in Saint-Louis hospital from 1909 till 1922.
Internationnaly known as the leader of the french dermatology, brillant clinician and pathologist, Darier described several dermatoses: follicular keratosis, acanthosis nigricans, dermatofibrosarcoma (Darier and Ferrand), erythema annularis, hypodermic sarcoids (Darier and Roussy), Darier's sign of the mastocytosis and give his name to a cutaneous disease identified in 1889 under the name of psorodermose folliculaire végétante (Darier's disease).
The textbook he published in 1909 was reedited many times in France as a classic of the dermatological literature and translated into german and english. At the age of 70, Darier was the chief editor of the greatest french dermatological encyclopedia: "Nouvelle Pratique Dermatologique", 8 volumes published in 1936.
Besides his professionnal activities, Darier was from 1925 till 1935 the mayor of Longpont-sur-Orge, a small town in the parisian suburban area.

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Interne des Hôpitaux de Paris in 1926, Degos was appointed in 1934 as assistant at the Saint-Louis dermatological department headed by Gougerot, Professor of Dermatology whom he succeeded in 1951.
For 25 years, Degos was fulfilling all the major responsabilities of French dermatology: General Secretary of the French Society of Dermatology, Professor of Dermatology, Chief Editor of the Annales de dermatology and author of a great textbook (Dermatologie) regarded as the bible of the french speaking dermatologists untill his last up-to-date edition in 1981.
Degos described several dermatoses, genodermatose en cocardes in 1947, clear cells acanthoma in 1962 and especially malignant atrophiant papulosis (Degos' disease) in 1942.

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Interne des Hôpitaux de Paris in 1890, Sabouraud introduced in Saint-Louis the bacteriological methods recently invented by Pasteur and his pupils.
Thanks to this ability he could set a definite mycologic "milieu de culture" still named milieu de Sabouraud.
Specialist of scalp diseases, Sabouraud was the Director of the Laboratory of the "Ecole des teigneux" founded by Lailler. In addition to being a worlwide known mycologist, Sabouraud was a talentuous painter and sculptor.

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Interne des Hôpitaux de Paris in 1883, Medecin des Hôpitaux de Paris in 1896, Jeanselme was supposed to succeed to Fournier at the Chair of Dermatology.
Ernest Gaucher being preferred, Jeanselme was appointed to a mission on leprosy in the French far-east asian colonies. Specialist in tropical diseases, Jeanselme brought a great contribution to the edification of the Pavillon de Malte devoted in Saint-Louis to the study and treatment of leprosy.
Appointed as Professor of Dermatology in 1918, he manifested a great interest for the prophylaxis of syphilis and the importance of the laboratory research.
Editor of encyclopedia on lepra and syphilis, Jeanselme was President of the French Society for the History of Medicine.

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Ian Sneddon was one of the most famous british dermatologists of the contemporary times.
Dermatologist of the Royal Navy, then consultant in Sheffield, Sneddon was Clinical Dean of the University. President of tbe British Association of Dermatologists in 1870, Sneddon was the author of more than 100 publications notably on the psychiatric connexions of dermatology and on two diseases named after him:

• Subcorneal Pustular Dermatosis described with Darell Wilkinson in 1956.
• livedo reticularis with systemic (neurological) involvement, or Sneddon's syndrom described in 1965.

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