author
Charles Richet
1850–1935
A French physiologist and Nobel Prize winner, he is best known for identifying anaphylaxis and helping lay the groundwork for modern allergy and immunology research. His career ranged widely across medicine, science writing, and some more controversial fringe interests.
1 Audiobook
The Pros and Cons of Vivisection
by Charles Richet
About the author
Born in Paris in 1850, Charles Richet became one of France’s leading physiologists. He studied medicine and science in Paris and later taught physiology there for many years, building a reputation for experimental research and clear scientific writing.
Richet is most remembered for discovering anaphylaxis, the severe reaction that can happen when a sensitized body meets a substance again after earlier exposure. That work earned him the 1913 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and became a major step in understanding allergy and immune responses.
He was also a remarkably wide-ranging figure, writing on medicine, psychology, aviation, and other subjects. Some of his interests, especially his involvement with psychical research and certain social ideas now widely rejected, make his legacy more complicated than his Nobel honor alone might suggest.