Marie-Louise’s obstetrician

Antoine Dubois (1756-1837), 

 baron of the Empire

by Xavier Riaud(*), FINS

http://www.napoleonicsociety.com/english/frameSetAccueil_Eng.htm

Antoine Dubois (Corlieu, 1896, © BIUM).

Antoine Dubois was born on June 19, 1756 at Gramat in the Lot area. He started his studies in a secondary school in Cahors called the Collège des Carmes but soon, left for Paris where he registered in the Collège des Quatre-Nations. Upon his father’s death, he had to work to finance his studies. He first decided to take holy orders but changed his mind and started studying medicine and surgery. He found himself working under the leadership of Sabatier and Sue, was Desault’s student for a while and became Peyrilhe’s favourite. He succeeded to combine his studies with his math and latin lectures that he gave the night and which allowed him to finance his studies and help his family on a daily basis. In 1790, he finally got his Master’s degree in surgery and defended his thesis.

He opened a dental office in the capital city. Alongside his profession, he was an anatomy demonstrator in university and a professor in the Practical School of dissections and operations at the College of Surgery. In 1791, he took the position of Sue who had previously retired, and became professor of anatomy in the Royal School of Surgery. That same year, he was also elected as a member of the Academy of Surgery (Ganière, 1988;http://fr.wikipedia.org , 2010).

When the Revolutionaries abolished the medical schools, Dubois saw his financial situation quickly deteriorating. He contacted Danton who allowed him to get a position in Melun’s military hospital. In the following years, he entered the Health Council and became the chief surgeon of Perpignan’s military hospital where, as soon as he arrived, he had to face a dysentery epidemic that he had to stop (Ganière, 1988). During the Terror period, his titles and influence allowed him to save many friends from being killed. It was the case of Bourdois de La Motte who was the soon-to-be doctor of the King of Rome and whom he saved in 1793 (No Author, 2010).

In 1795, he went back to Paris. He was promoted professor of anatomy and physiology in the Ecole de Santé which had just opened. In 1796, he succeeded Desault and held the position of professor of clinical surgery. In 1798, Bonaparte made him in charge of the medical sciences within the scientific team that he planned to bring with him during his campaign in Egypt. Dubois was at the head of 108 surgeons during the campaign (http://fr.wikipedia.org , 2010). On April 18, the doctor embarked for Toulon in the flagship called l’Orient (Ganière, 1988; Dupont, 1999). Upon his arrival in Alexandria, with Dominque Larrey’s help, he treated General Kleber who had been wounded when he besieged the city. After Cairo’s fall, Bonaparte had him integrating the Physics department of the “Institut d’Egypte” on August 22 ( http://fr.wikipedia.org , 2010). On February 8, 1799, Dubois was repatriated to France for health reasons. Indeed, he suffered from vesicle stones and his state worsened. Once in France, he went back to his former business. Still professor at the Ecole de Santé, he then held the position of surgeon of the 33 rd brigade of the National Guard. In 1802, he became the chief surgeon of the hospice of the Faubourg Saint-Denis, the current Fernand Widal Hospital. He was so appreciated by the Parisians that this place will take the nickname of the Nursing Home of Doctor Dubois ( http://fr.wikipedia.org , 2010).

In 1804, despite the fact that he was reaching the climax of his professional glory, that he was 48 years old and that he was appreciated by the new Emperor, he was however not yet summoned as Napoleon’s first surgeon. Indeed, his rival and yet friend, Corvisart conceded that Dubois had not been chosen because « the Emperor’s favourite doctor » wanted to keep for himself that power and was afraid losing it (Ganière, 1988). And yet, in 1808, Corvisart gave him the opportunity to be the only doctor of the Imperial court with fees amounting to 3 000 francs per year. In 1810, he became the Empress Marie-Louise’s obstetrician. The pregnancy went well. However, it was not the same for the delivery so much so that Dubois who was panicking even considered to sacrifice the child who did not seem well. The Empress suffered a lot and Dubois panicked. In front of such a scene, Napoleon got angry and demanded the surgeon to calm down. The latter finally succeeded in helping Marie-Louise to give birth. Yet, with respect to what the delivery proved to be, Dubois did not hesitate to declare that the young woman would never be able to have other children. The future incidents proved that he was wrong (Ganière, 1988 ; Dupont, 1999).

The birth of the King of Rome was such an event that Dubois was constantly the object of praise. Indeed, to his first remuneration amounting to 100 000 francs, 15 000 francs were added and which were planned for the delivery. He also received honors since he was promoted to the rank of Knight of the Légion d'honneur and was made Baron of the Empire with a private income of 4 000 francs which was soon raised to 9 000. Marie-Louise was not the least to do the same since she offered him jewels (Ganière, 1988; http://fr.wikipedia.org , 2010).

When Louis XVIII came back to power, Dubois lost his private income but the new king offered him a 1000 franc pension per year and allowed him to keep his position as consultant to the Court. He also kept his position in la Maison de Santé. In 1820, during the creation of the Academy of Medicine, he sat in the Surgery branch. He was also promoted professor of obstetrics at the hospice of the maternity hospital. When, on February 13, 1820, the Duke of Berry was wounded to death during an attack, he was among the doctors who tried to save him but in vain. This failure was the cause of the many reproaches made by the royal family to the doctors whom they considered as guilty of the Duke’s death (Ganière, 1988).

In 1822, following student demonstrations, Dubois was dismissed but kept his honorary membership. On May 5, 1829, Dubois was summoned to hold again the position as professor of clinic surgery of the Hôpital de la Pitié. In 1830, he became the dean of the Faculty of Medicine. He was unanimously appreciated. Besides, Louis-Philippe rewarded him with the insignias of Officer of the Légion d’Honneur. In 1831, Dubois retired from medicine. In 1833, he renounced all his positions (Ganière, 1988 ; http://fr.wikipedia.org , 2010).

Sick and wickened by his problems of vesicle stones from which he never really recovered, he suffered from jaundice in 1836. On March 30 1837, he died from pneumonia that he caught the previous winter (Ganière, 1988 ; Dupont, 1999).

He did not publish much. Only a few articles mainly in the Dictionary of Medical Sciences (Dictionnaire des sciences médicales ) are rare testimonies of the doctor’s gigantic talent. Moreover, he improved some medical devices such as the forceps. In front of the School of Medicine, he built a hospital which still bears his name today. A street across the School of Medicine in Paris also bears his name. Finally, his funeral oration took place in the Academy of Medicine in 1849 ( http://fr.wikipedia.org , 2010).

Likewise, Corvisart’s and Larrey’s sons, both excellent doctors, were to be very close to Napoleon III. Dubois’s son who held the same positions as his father was to help the Empress Eugénie to give birth on March 16, 1856 (Ganière, 1988).

Bibliography : Bibliothèque Interuniversitaire (BIUM), personal communication, Paris, 2010. Corlieu Auguste, Centenaire de la Faculté de Médecine de Paris (1794-1894) [Centenary of the Faculty of Medicine in Paris (1794-1894)], Alcan – Baillère – Doin – Masson (ed.), Paris, 1896. Dupont Michel, Dictionnaire historique des Médecins dans et hors de la Médecine [Historical dictionary of doctors within and outside of medicine], Larousse (ed.), Paris, 1999. Ganière Paul, « Dubois Antoine (1756-1837), médecin » [Dubois Antoine (1756-1837), doctor ], inRevue du Souvenir napoléonien [Review of Memories on Napoleon], December 1988 ; 362 : 51-52. http://fr.wikipedia.org , Antoine Dubois, 2010, pp. 1-2. Without Author, « Bourdois de La Motte, Edme Joachim », in Les amis du Souvenir napoléonien [Friends of Memories on Napoleon], http://lesapn.forumactif.fr, 2010, pp. 1-2.

(*) Dental Surgeon, Doctor in Epistemology, History of Sciences and Techniques, Laureate and member of the National Academy of Dental Surgery.

Charlotte Corday assassinates Marat

Jul 13, 1793:

               Jean-Paul Marat

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/charlotte-corday-assassinates-marat

Jean Paul Marat, one of the most outspoken leaders of the French Revolution, is stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, a Royalist sympathizer.

Originally a doctor, Marat founded the journal L'Ami du Peuple in 1789, and its fiery criticism of those in power was a contributing factor to the bloody turn of the Revolution in 1792. With the arrest of the king in August of that year, Marat was elected as a deputy of Paris to the Convention. In France's revolutionary legislature, Marat opposed the Girondists--a faction made up of moderate republicans who advocated a constitutional government and continental war.

By 1793, Charlotte Corday, the daughter of an impoverished aristocrat and an ally of the Girondists in Normandy, came to regard Marat as the unholy enemy of France and plotted his assassination. Leaving her native Caen for Paris, she had planned to kill Marat at the Bastille Day parade on July 14 but was forced to seek him out in his home when the festivities were canceled. On July 13, she gained an audience with Marat by promising to betray the Caen Girondists. Marat, who had a persistent skin disease, was working as usual in his bath when Corday pulled a knife from her bodice and stabbed him in his chest. He died almost immediately, and Corday waited calmly for the police to come and arrest her. She was guillotined four days later.

Thérésa Tallien

WOENSDAG 28 OKTOBER 2009

http://kleurrijkhortense.blogspot.com/2009/10/theresa-tallien.html

She was born Juana María Ignazia Teresa de Cabarrús y Galabert in Carabanchel Alto, Madrid, Spain to François Cabarrus, a French financier, and Maria Antonia Galabert, the daughter of a French industrialist based in Spain. Thérésa's father founded and governed the bank of San Carlos, which became the Royal Bank of Spain, and was King Joseph I of Spain's Minister of Finance. In 1789, he was knighted by King Charles IV of Spain with the title of count.

From 1778 to 1783, Thérésa was raised by nuns in France. She was a student of the painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey. She returned home to the family castle briefly in 1785, and then her father sent her back to France at twelve years old to complete her education and get married.

The first of her many love affairs was with Alexandre de Laborde; however, the young couple was forced to separate as de Laborde's powerful father, Jean-Joseph de Laborde, disapproved of her. Cabarrus then arranged for his "very beautiful" daughter to marry a rich, powerful Frenchman in order to strengthen his position in France. On February 21, 1788, Thérésa was married to Jean Jacques Devin Fontenay (1762-1817), the last Marquis de Fontenay, a wealthy aristocrat described as small, red and ugly. The bride was fourteen years old. Even though in the 1780s Thérésa had begun to take an interest in Liberalism and the principles of the Revolution, she was presented at the court of King Louis XVI. The newlyweds visited the royal court of Spain as well. On May 2, 1789, Thérésa had a son, Devin Théodore de Fontenay (1789-1815), whose father was perhaps Felix le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, brother of Louis-Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau.























When her husband fled at the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, she resumed her maiden name and obtained a divorce in 1791. She took refuge in Bordeaux, where she was arrested and jailed as the former wife of an émigré aristocrat. She met Jean Lambert Tallien, 
the Commissary of the National Convention, who saved her from the guillotine, and became his mistress; through his influence, Thérésa Tallien obtained the release of many prisoners. She accompanied him when he was recalled to Paris, only to be imprisoned on Maximilien Robespierre's orders first in La Force prison, then in Carmes prison where she met Joséphine de Beauharnais. She married Tallien on 26 December 1794. She and Tallien had a daughter, Thermidor Tallien (1795-1862) who married Count Felix de Narbonne-Pelet in 1815.

Her husband joined the conspiracy to oust Robespierre, and on July 27, 1794 (9 Thermidor), Thérésa was released. Tallien had arranged her liberation, and soon after that of Joséphine de Beauharnais. Thérésa was a moderating influence on her husband: after the outbreak of the Thermidorian Reaction, she earned the moniker Notre-Dame de Thermidor ("Our Lady of Thermidor") as the person who was most likely to intervene in favor of the detained.


Thérésa became one of the leaders of the Parisian social life. Her salon was famous and she was one of the originators of the Neo-Grec women's fashion of the French Directory period. She was a very colorful figure; one story is that she was said to bathe in the juice of strawberries for their healing properties. She once arrived at the Tuileries Palace, the then chief residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, supported by a black page, with six sapphire rings in the feet, eight in the hands, two gold bracelets in the ankles, eighteen in the arms and a forehead band full of rubies. On another occasion she appeared at the Paris Opera wearing a white silk dress without sleeves and not wearing any underwear. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand commented: "Il n'est pas possible de s'exposer plus somptueusement!" ("It is not possible to exhibit oneself more sumptuously!").

Marriage to Riquet
Tallien's power waned and he and Thérésa divorced in 1802. After a brief flirtation with Napoleon, she moved first to the powerful Paul Barras, whose former mistress was Napoleon's first wife Joséphine; then to the millionaire speculator Gabriel-Julien Ouvrard (with whom she had four children); and finally, attempting to regain respectability and to get away from Paris, she married the much younger François-Joseph-Philippe de Riquet, Comte de Caraman, on 22 August 1805 - he had become the sixteenth Prince of Chimay after the death of his childless uncle in 1804. She spent the rest of her life first in Paris, then on the Chimay estates (now in Belgium). After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, these became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.


She had become one of the most famous women of her age, and she resented this role. Once when she appeared at the Louvre accompanied by her children, so many spectators flocked to see her up close, that she had to escape down a staircase to save herself. The marriage to Caraman meant that she returned to the class in which she had been born - and educated.

The couple invited musicians such as Daniel Auber, Rodolphe Kreutzer, Luigi Cherubini, Charles de Bériot and Maria Malibran to Paris and later to Chimay, where Thérésa held a little court. Cherubini composed his Mass in fa at their castle there.

Thérésa died in Chimay, where she was interred with François-Joseph de Riquet under the sacristy of the local church where a memorial stands to her memory. She bore ten children during her various liaisons, including Joseph de Riquet, first son of François-Joseph-Philippe, who became the seventeenth Prince of Chimay in 1843.

Children
Thérésa bore ten children by various husbands and lovers. Her firstborn was her son Antoine François Julien Théodore Denis Ignace de Fontenay (1789-1815), followed by a daughter, Rose Thermidor Thérésa Tallien (1795-1862).

She had one child by Barras, born in 1797, who died at birth.

Ouvrard was allegedly the father of four of her children, born during her marriage to Tallien: