Benjamin Ball (20 April 1833 – 23 February 1893) was a French

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

who was born in the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

. He was the first "Chair of Mental and Brain Diseases" at the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Faculty of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

Early life

He was born at

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, to an English father, William Ball, and a Swizz mother, Julie Autran (1807–1852). He was naturalised as French in 1849 and spent the whole of his professional life in Paris.

Medical career

He studied medicine under Jacques-Joseph Moreau de Tours and

Jean-Martin Charcot Jean-Martin Charcot (; 29 November 1825 – 16 August 1893) was a French neurology, neurologist and professor of anatomical pathology. He worked on groundbreaking work about hypnosis and hysteria, in particular with his hysteria patient Louise A ...

and was an assistant of

Charles Lasègue Ernest-Charles Lasègue (5 September 1816 – 20 March 1883) was a French physician that released over one hundred scientific papers. He became recognized in the mid-19th century from his work in the fields of psychiatry and neurology. He pu ...

at the Salpêtrière Hospital. During his ''

internat A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

'' he was

Laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or Military awards and decorations, military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Pri ...

of the Academy of Medicine (''Prix Portal'', in collaboration with Charcot). He became

doctor of medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

in 1862. With the support of

, Ball became to first ''Chair of Mental and Brain Diseases'' (''Clinique des Maladies Mentales et de l’Encéphale'') in the

in 18 April 1877, to the detriment of his rival Valentin Magnan. In 1881, in collaboration with Jules Bernard Luys, Ball founded the journal ''L'Encéphale'', which the pair directed until 1889.

Alienist work

Ball advocated against psychic disorders being separated from the rest of medicine, stating that "the work of the mind coincides with phenomena of a purely physical".

Written works

Ball is the author of numerous works relating to mental diseases. In 1885, he published a trail-blazing treatrise entitled ''La morphinomanie'', in which he evidenced the toxic effects of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

which were not absolutely acknowledged at the time.

Awards

By decree on 14 July 1880 (declaration: 29 January 1881) Ball was awarded a

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in France's

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Personal life

On 2 August 1871, Ball married Suzanne Carrier de Belleuse (1847–1928). They had six children, including Albert Ball (1875–1937).

Death

Ball suffered from ill health for 12 months that prevented him from working as a physician. Ball, who is suspected of having endured a two-year evolution of a cancer, died at his Paris residence on 23 February 1893. In his obituary, he was described as having died of "severe mental strain" due to his illness. His wife's brother and sculptor, Robert Carrier de Belleuse (1848–1913), made a bronze bust that adorns Ball's tomb in

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre () is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis in Paris, after the Père Lachaise Cemet ...

. In 1898, Albert Ball was admitted to boarding school after the death of his father.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Benjamin French psychiatrists French neurologists 19th-century French physicians 1833 births 1893 deaths Burials at Montmartre Cemetery Knights of the Legion of Honour Kingdom of the Two Sicilies people French psychologists 19th-century French social scientists Immigrants to France