Born on October 6, 1895, in Saxon-Sion (Meurthe-et-Moselle). Died on March 14, 1986, in Paris.
He came from a family of schoolteachers.
Education and Professional Career
- Attended high school in Pont-à-Mousson
- 1913: Enrolled in the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Nancy
- 1914–1919: Drafted in December 1914, one month after enrolling in the Faculty of Medicine
- Fought in the Battle of Verdun (War Cross, 1916)
- Wounded during the Battle of the Somme
- Served as an auxiliary physician on the Thessaloniki front
- 1919–1924: Studied medicine at the Faculty of Medicine in Strasbourg
- 1920: CES in General Physiology. Teaching assistant in histology at the Strasbourg School of Medicine
- 1921: CES in General Biology
- Laboratory assistant for practical courses at the Strasbourg Faculty of Medicine
- Worked in Pol Bouin’s laboratory
- 1924: Doctor of Medicine, “The Sexual Cycle in Female Mammals: A Study of the Follicular Phase”
- 1926: Appointed to teach histology at the Faculty of Medicine in Algiers
- 1927: Ph.D. in Natural Sciences, Faculty of Algiers, “Determinism of Secondary Sexual Characteristics in Certain Mammals with Periodic Testicular Activity”
- Qualified to teach medicine, histology, and embryology at the Faculty of Medicine in Algiers
- 1931: Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Medicine of Algiers
- Tenured Professor, then Second-Class Professor, then Honorary Professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Algiers
- 1938–1966: Professor at the Collège de France, holder of the Chair of Experimental Morphology and Endocrinology, upon the recommendation of J. Jolly. Contributed to the development of the life sciences at the Collège de France by nominating Antoine Lacassagne (1941), Jean Roche (1947), Jacques Benoit (1952), Alain Horeau (1956), and Bernard Halpern (1960)
- 1939–1940: Called up for military service
- Laboratory Director at the École Pratique des Hautes Études
- Worked with Joliot, Horeau, and Süe to produce thyroxine labeled with radioactive iodine
