Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Napoleon III

  • The illness and death of Napoleon III

    Napoleon III, the last monarch of France, led a life marked by political ambition, exile, and a quest for legitimacy. Born in Paris in 1808 as the nephew of the reining emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, he spent much of his early life in exile and was involved in several unsuccessful attempts to seize power. In 1848,…

  • The Imperial Asylum at Vincennes

    On March 8, 1855, Napoleon III of France announced the creation of the Imperial Asylum at Vincennes. It opened in 1857 and was intended to be a place where workers could receive care comparable to military veterans—particularly significant as construction and factory jobs had become more important and more dangerous. The Emperor subsidized the early…

  • Claude Bernard, one of the greatest scientists

    Claude Bernard (1813 –1878), “one of the greatest of all men of science,” originated the term milieu intérieur, and furthered the concept of homeostasis. After an early high school and college education, he become an assistant in a druggist’s shop and contemplated becoming a writer, but was persuaded to study medicine and became an intern at the Hôtel-Dieu hospital…