He was born on July 2, 1746, in Dijon, in the parish of Saint Pierre.
His father was a master glazier.
After attending the hospital in Dijon, his mother sent him to Paris to continue his medical studies, and he enrolled at the Royal College of Surgery, where he studied regularly between 1765 and 1767, attending anatomy classes taught by Raphaël SABATIER and Jean-Joseph SUE.
At the same time, he was learning about surgery at Lafaye's clinics and, in the afternoons, at Isaac GOURSAUD's clinics.
His years of surgery came to an end in 1768, when he obtained the title of Master of Surgery: he settled in Dijon as a surgeon.
He married Jeanne CARRE, daughter and granddaughter of a master surgeon, on July 27, 1767, in Quetigny, Côte d’Or. Together they had a son, Bernard François Hector (1769-1837).
In 1769, he opened a free course in human and comparative anatomy, which was attended by many students for over ten years.
In 1774, the States of Burgundy established a chemistry program with Louis-Bernard GUYTON de MORVEAU as the head professor and Hugues MARET and François CHAUSSIER as assistants. Upon MARET's death in 1786, he was promoted to second professor of chemistry.
In Dijon, his professional qualities earned him the favor of his clients, and his reputation quickly spread beyond Burgundy. He made a name for himself at the Academy of Surgery through several presentations, which led to him being awarded the Academy's Gold Medal at the public session on April 10, 1777.
He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Besançon on January 14, 1780, and in 1784, he became a correspondent for the Royal Society of Medicine. That same year, he was admitted to the Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters in Dijon, where he became secretary general following the retirement of Guyton de Morveau.
In 1785, at the request of the States of Burgundy, he published a popular guide on treating bites from rabid animals: "Method for treating bites from rabid animals and vipers, followed by a summary on malignant pustules" (with Joseph Enaux, 1726-1798).
In 1789, he published a study on the muscles of the human body, in which he proposed a more rational classification than that previously taught: "Summary exposition of the muscles of the human body according to the methodical classification and nomenclature adopted in the public anatomy course in Dijon"; this work was republished in 1797.
On December 20, 1789, he read a paper entitled "Surgical and legal observations on an important point of criminal jurisprudence" at the Academy of Dijon, in which he demonstrated the role that doctors could play in informing the justice system. This work was well received, and the following year he began teaching a course in forensic medicine in Dijon.
On 3 Nivôse Year III (December 23, 1794), he married Angélique LABOREY in Dijon (Section du Crébillon), and they also had a son, Franck Bernard Simon (1804-1866).
In 1794, Antoine-François Fourcroy was tasked by the National Convention with reorganizing medical education and sought out a figure who could provide him with details on how to go about this. Claude-Antoine Prieur-Duvernois, from Côte-d'Or, who headed the Committee of Public Safety's Department of Science and Arts, recommended François Chaussier, who thus joined the Committee of Public Instruction. He drafted a report and a draft decree, which he read to the Convention on 7 Frimaire, Year III (November 27, 1794). In it, he proposed the creation of a single "Central School of Health" in Paris. The members of the Convention, who were largely open to decentralization, requested the creation of other similar schools in Montpellier and Strasbourg, and it was on this basis that the report was adopted on 14 Frimaire (December 4).
Chaussier returned to Dijon, where he resumed his classes and studies, as well as the duties entrusted to him: he had been appointed physician at the Hospices de Dijon in April 1793 and surgeon to the prisons. He did not remain there long, however, as he was called back to Paris to take up the chair of anatomy and physiology at the Ecole de Santé. Chaussier was, in the words of Joseph-Henri Réveillé-Parise, the most famous professor of physiology at the Paris School: he argued that vitalism was the basis of all physiological studies.
A decree dated 7 Vendémiaire Year III (September 28, 1794) officially created the École Centrale des Travaux Publics (Central School of Public Works), which would later become the École Polytechnique. less than a month after it opened, the Board of Directors proposed setting up an infirmary and appointing a "health officer" (the revolutionary term for doctors) to care for sick students and also give lessons on "the art of preventing and alleviating illness." The list of École Polytechnique staff for the following year lists him as Claude Louis Berthollet's assistant, "responsible for teaching zootechnics and sanitation, and school doctor." In fact, he taught Berthollet's course during his absence in Italy in 1796-1797. After the regularization of chemistry teaching, Chaussier seems to have abandoned teaching this science and restricted himself almost entirely to his duties as a physician.
In 1799, "Les tables synoptiques" (Synoptic Tables) was published to great acclaim. It is a summary of the physiology, pathology, and therapeutics of the various anatomical systems of the human body.
On May 9, 1804, he was appointed Physician of the Maternity Hospices and entrusted with the Presidency of the medical juries for the examinations of Health Officers, Pharmacists, and Midwives for the district of the Paris Faculty of Medicine.
He was a member of the commission appointed by the Minister of the Interior in October 1810 to study "secret remedies," where he worked alongside André Marie Constant Duméril, Jean-Joseph Menuret, and Nicolas Deyeux.
In 1815, after the fall of the First Empire, he was replaced in his position as physician at the École Polytechnique, but he remained a professor at the Faculty until November 21, 1822, when the Restoration changed the organization of the Faculty: he was appointed honorary professor and his chair was taken away from him. He was deeply embittered by this and the next day suffered a stroke that temporarily deprived him of his speech and ability to walk. He recovered, but remained hemiplegic, which did not prevent him from continuing his work at the Maternity Hospital.
On May 6, 1823, he was admitted tothe Academy of Sciences.
Between 1824 and 1827, he published several works on forensic medicine: "Forensic Manual on Poisons, Preceded by Considerations on Poisoning"14, "Collection of memoirs, consultations, and reports on various subjects of forensic medicine"15, "Forensic Memoir on the Viability of the Unborn Child, Presented toHis Excellency the Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice"16
François Chaussier died at his home in Paris on June 19, 1828, at the age of 81, from a stroke.
He was buried in Père-Lachaise Cemetery (18th division) on June 21: Nicolas-Philibert Adelon gave a speech on behalf of the Academy, Marie-Alexandre Désormaux, representing the Faculty, did the same, and Duméril, on behalf of the Royal Academy of Sciences, read a long eulogy.
Don'ssecond son, Franck CHAUSSIER, followed in his father's footsteps and defended his doctoral thesis in 1827 in Montpellier.
He is a French physician, professor at the Paris Faculty of Medicine, and member of the Royal Academy of Medicine and the Academy of Sciences.
Chaussier was the main editor of articles devoted to pharmacy inthe Encyclopédie méthodique13.
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We support medical interns in choosing their specialties through the Future Intern Forum (FFI), which we organize in conjunction with the Languedoc Roussillon Interns Union.
