René Vallery-Radot

Born in Paris on October 1, 1853, René Vallery-Radot was a French writer and biographer. He is most often remembered as the son-in-law of Louis Pasteur and as the author of the first full biography of Pasteur, a book that helped introduce the scientist's life and work to a wide readership.

Vallery-Radot studied law, but he became known for his literary work rather than for a legal career. Writing in a clear, accessible style, he focused on biography and nonfiction, and his close family connection to Pasteur gave his best-known book unusual immediacy. That connection also places him near the center of the intellectual and scientific world of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century France.

He died in Paris on January 24, 1933. Today, he remains of special interest to readers of scientific biography, medical history, and French literature, both for his own career and for the vivid early portrait he left of Pasteur.