Charcot, Jean-Martin (1825-1893)

French neurologist who studied hysteria, sclerosis, locomotor ataxia, and senile diseases. Among his pupils was the founder of psychiatry, Sigmund Freud.

One of the most influential neurologists of his day, Charcot exhibited hysterical women at weekly public lectures, which became fashionable events. He was also fascinated by the relations between hysteria and hypnotic phenomena.

Charcot was born and educated in Paris and worked at the Salpétrière hospital there. He was convinced that all psychiatric conditions followed natural laws, and studied the way certain mental illnesses correlate with physical changes in the brain. He published the results in a series of memoirs.