Pioneers in neurology: Michel Jouvet (1925–2017)

Excerpt

Michel Jouvet was born on November 16th, 1925 in Lons-le-Saunier in Jura, France, where he attended Rouget de l’Isle secondary school (Fig. 1). While his father was a medical doctor, Jouvet wished to become a naval officer but reconsidered following the fall of the French naval fleet during World War II. During the war, Jouvet fought against German occupation forces in Jura as part of the French resistance. He was incorporated as a sergeant in the French First Army and, after the Allied liberation, was promoted to the level of Alpine sergeant. He received la Croix du combatant volontaire de 1939–1945 and the Légion d’honneur for his military service [1]. Jouvet was finally convinced by his father to pursue medical training, which he completed at the University of Lyon’s (now Claude Bernard University) Faculty of Medicine [2]. He supplemented his training with studies in ethnography and anthropology, a curiosity blossoming from interest in traveling abroad [3]. …