Charles Richet
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Charles Robert Richet (; 25 August 1850 – 4 December 1935) was a French
physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...
at the
Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
and
immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...
pioneer. In 1913, he won the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
in Physiology or Medicine "in recognition of his work on
anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis (Greek: 'up' + 'guarding') is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of the use of emergency medication on site. It typicall ...
". Richet devoted many years to the study of
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
and spiritualist phenomena, coining the term " ectoplasm". He believed in the inferiority of
black people Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...
, was a proponent of
eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...
, and presided over the French Eugenics Society towards the end of his life. The Richet line of professorships of medical science continued through his son Charles and his grandson Gabriel. Gabriel Richet was also one of the pioneers of European
nephrology Nephrology is a specialty for both adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function (renal physiology) and kidney disease (renal pathophysiology), the preservation of kid ...
.


Career

He was born on 25 August 1850 in Paris the son of Alfred Richet. He was educated at the Lycee Bonaparte in Paris then studied medicine at university in Paris. Richet spent a period of time as an intern at the Salpêtrière hospital in Paris, where he observed
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 ...
's work with then so called "hysterical" patients. In 1887, Richet became professor of
physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
at the
Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
investigating a variety of subjects such as neurochemistry,
digestion Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food compounds into small water-soluble components so that they can be absorbed into the blood plasma. In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intestine into th ...
,
thermoregulation Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...
in
homeothermic Homeothermy, homothermy, or homoiothermy () is thermoregulation that maintains a stable internal body temperature regardless of external influence. This internal body temperature is often, though not necessarily, higher than the immediate envir ...
animals, and
breathing Breathing (spiration or ventilation) is the rhythmical process of moving air into ( inhalation) and out of ( exhalation) the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxy ...
.Wolf, Stewart. (2012). ''Brain, Mind, and Medicine: Charles Richet and the Origins of Physiological Psychology''. Transaction Publishers. pp. 1–101. In 1898, he became a member of the Académie de Médecine. In 1914, he became a member of the
Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
. Richet discovered the analgesic drug chloralose with Maurice Hanriot.Tabori, Paul. (1972). ''Charles Richet''. In ''Pioneers of the Unseen''. Souvenir Press. pp. 98–132. Richet had many interests, and he wrote books about history, sociology, philosophy, psychology, as well as theatre and poetry. He was a pioneer in aviation. He was involved in the French pacifist movement. Starting in 1902, pacifist societies began to meet at a National Peace Congress, often with several hundred attendees. Unable to unify the pacifist forces they set up a small permanent delegation of French Pacifist Societies in 1902, which Richet led, together with Lucien Le Foyer as secretary-general.


Discovery of anaphylaxis

Richet, working with Paul Portier, discovered the phenomenon of anaphylaxis. In 1901, they joined Albert I, Prince of Monaco on a scientific expedition around the French coast of Atlantic Ocean. On board Albert's ship, ''Princesse Alice II'', they extracted a toxin (which they called a hypnotoxin) that is produced by cnidarians such as
Portuguese man o' war The Portuguese war (''Physalia physalis''), also known as the man-of-war or bluebottle, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is the only species in the genus ''Physalia'', which in turn is the only genus in ...
and sea anemone ('' Actinia sulcata''). In their first experiment on the ship, they injected a dog with the toxin, expecting the dog to develop immunity (tolerance) to the toxin, but instead it suffered a severe immune reaction (
hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) is an abnormal physiological condition in which there is an undesirable and adverse immune response to an antigen. It is an abnormality in the immune system that causes Imm ...
). In 1902, they repeated the injections in their laboratory and found that dogs normally tolerated the toxin at first injection, but when given subsequent injections three weeks later, they always developed fatal shock, regardless of the dose of the toxin they were given. Thus, they discovered that the first dose, instead of inducing tolerance (
prophylaxis Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...
) as they had expected, caused further doses to be deadly. In 1902, Richet coined the term ''aphylaxis'' to describe the phenomenon; he later changed it to ''anaphylaxis'' because he thought it was more
euphonious Phonaesthetics (also spelled phonesthetics in North America) is the study of the beauty and pleasantness associated with the sounds of certain words or parts of words. The term was first used in this sense, perhaps by during the mid-20th century ...
., citing May CD, "The ancestry of allergy: being an account of the original experimental induction of hypersensitivity recognizing the contribution of Paul Portier", ''J Allergy Clin Immunol.'' 1985 Apr; 75(4):485–495. The term is from the
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
ἀνά-, ''ana-'', meaning "against", and φύλαξις, ''phylaxis'', meaning "protection". On 15 February 1902, Richet and Portier jointly presented their experiments to the Societé de Biologie in Paris. Their research is regarded as the beginning of the scientific study of
allergy Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include Allergic rhinitis, hay fever, Food allergy, food al ...
(the word was coined by
Clemens von Pirquet Clemens Peter Freiherr von Pirquet (12 May 187428 February 1929) was an Austrian scientist and pediatrician best known for his contributions to the fields of bacteriology and immunology. Career Born in Vienna, he studied theology at the Universit ...
in 1906). It helped explain
hay fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of rhinitis, inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. It is classified as a Allergy, type I hypersensitivity re ...
and other
allergic reaction Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include Allergic rhinitis, hay fever, Food allergy, food al ...
s to foreign substances,
asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...
, certain reactions to intoxication, and certain cases of
sudden cardiac death Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest ''SCA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly circulate around the body and the blood flow to the brain and other org ...
. Richet continued to study the phenomenon of anaphylaxis, and in 1913 was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...
for his work.


Parapsychology

Richet was deeply interested in the idea of
extrasensory perception Extrasensory perception (ESP), also known as a sixth sense, or cryptaesthesia, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was ad ...
, and in hypnosis. In 1884, Alexandr Aksakov interested him in the medium of Eusapia Palladino. In 1891, Richet founded the ''Annales des sciences psychiques''. He kept in touch with renowned occultists and
spiritualists Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at least ...
of his time such as Albert von Schrenck-Notzing,
Frederic William Henry Myers Frederic William Henry Myers (6 February 1843 – 17 January 1901) was a British poet, classicist, philologist, and a founder of the Society for Psychical Research. Myers' work on psychical research and his ideas about a "subliminal self" we ...
and Gabriel Delanne. In 1919, Richet became honorary chairman of the
Institut Métapsychique International The Institut Métapsychique International (IMI) is a French parapsychological organization that studies paranormal phenomena. It was created in 1919 by Jean Meyer, Gustav Geley Gustav Geley (13 April 1868 – 15 July 1924) was a French physician ...
in Paris, and, in 1930, its full-time president. Richet hoped to find a physical mechanism that would scientifically validate the existence of
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
phenomena. He wrote: "It has been shown that as regards subjective metapsychics the simplest and most rational explanation is to suppose the existence of a faculty of supernormal cognition ... setting in motion the human intelligence by certain vibrations that do not move the normal senses." In 1905, Richet was named president of the
Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...
in the United Kingdom. In 1894, Richet coined the term ectoplasm. Richet believed that some apparent mediumship could be explained physically as due to the external projection of a material substance (ectoplasm) from the body of the medium, but he didn't believe that this proposed substance had anything to do with spirits. He rejected the spirit hypothesis of mediumship as unscientific, instead supporting the sixth-sense hypothesis. According to Richet:
It seems to me prudent not to give credence to the spiritistic hypothesis... it appears to me still (at the present time, at all events) improbable, for it contradicts (at least apparently) the most precise and definite data of physiology, whereas the hypothesis of the sixth sense is a new physiological notion which contradicts nothing that we learn from physiology. Consequently, although in certain rare cases spiritism supplies an apparently simpler explanation, I cannot bring myself to accept it. When we have fathomed the history of these unknown vibrations emanating from reality – past reality, present reality, and even future reality – we shall doubtless have given them an unwonted degree of importance. The history of the Hertzian waves shows us the ubiquity of these vibrations in the external world, imperceptible to our senses.
He hypothesized a "sixth sense", an ability to perceive hypothetical vibrations, and he discussed this idea in his 1928 book ''Our Sixth Sense''.Richet, Charles. (nd, ca 1928). ''Our Sixth Sense''. London: Rider. (First published in French, 1928) Although he believed in extrasensory perception, Richet did not believe in life after death or spirits. He investigated and studied various mediums, such as
Eva Carrière Eva Carrière (born Marthe Béraud 1886 in France, died 1943),
, William Eglinton, Pascal Forthuny, Stefan Ossowiecki, Leonora Piper and Raphael Schermann. From 1905 to 1910, Richet attended many séances led by the medium Linda Gazzera, claiming that she was a genuine medium who had performed
psychokinesis Telekinesis () (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been cri ...
, meaning that various objects had been moved in the séance room purely through the force of the mind. Gazzera was exposed as a fraud in 1911. Richet was also fooled into believing that Joaquin María Argamasilla, known as the "Spaniard with X-ray Eyes", had genuine
psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that a ...
powers.
Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...
exposed Argamasilla as a fraud in 1924. According to Joseph McCabe, Richet was also duped by the fraudulent mediums Eva Carrière and Eusapia Palladino. The historian Ruth Brandon criticized Richet as credulous when it came to psychical research, pointing to "his will to believe, and his disinclination to accept any unpalatably contrary indications".


Eugenics and racial beliefs

Richet was a proponent of
eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...
, advocating sterilization and marriage prohibition for those with mental disabilities. He expressed his eugenist ideas in his 1919 book ''La Sélection Humaine''. From 1920 to 1926 he presided over the French Eugenics Society. Psychologist Gustav Jahoda has noted that Richet "was a firm believer in the inferiority of blacks", comparing
black people Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...
to apes, and intellectually to imbeciles.Bain, Paul G; Vaes, Jeroen; Leyens, Jacques Philippe. (2014). ''Humanness and Dehumanization''. Routledge. p. 28.


Works

Richet's works on parapsychological subjects, which dominated his later years, include ''Traité de Métapsychique'' (Treatise on Metapsychics, 1922), ''Notre Sixième Sens'' (Our Sixth Sense, 1928), ''L'Avenir et la Prémonition'' (The Future and Premonition, 1931) and ''La Grande Espérance'' (The Great Hope, 1933). *Maxwell, J & Richet, C.
Metapsychical Phenomena: Methods and Observations
' (London: Duckworth, 1905). *Richet, C. ''Physiologie Travaux du Laboratoire'' (Paris: Felix Alcan, 1909) *Richet, C. ''La Sélection Humaine'' (Paris: Felix Alcan, 1919) *Richet, C
Traité De Métapsychique
(Paris: Felix Alcan, 1922). *Richet, C
''Thirty Years of Psychical Research''
(New York: The Macmillan Company, 1923). *Richet, C. ''Our Sixth Sense'' (London: Rider, 1928).


See also

*
Breguet-Richet Gyroplane The Breguet-Richet Gyroplane was an early French experimental quadcopter rotary-wing aircraft developed by Breguet Aviation. Design and development The Gyroplane No.I was one of the earliest attempts to create a practical rotary-wing aircraft. ...
* Eusapia Palladino


References


Further reading

*M. Brady Brower. (2010). ''Unruly Spirits: The Science of Psychic Phenomena in Modern France''. University of Illinois Press. *Sofie Lachapelle. (2011). ''Investigating the Supernatural: From Spiritism and Occultism to Psychical Research and Metapsychics in France, 1853–1931''. Johns Hopkins University Press. *Paul Tabori. (1972). ''Pioneers of the Unseen''. Souvenir Press. *Stewart Wolf. (2012). ''Brain, Mind, and Medicine: Charles Richet and the Origins of Physiological Psychology''. Transaction Publishers.


External links

* *
Short biography and bibliography
in the Virtual Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Richet's ''Dictionnaire de physiologie''
(1895–1928) as fullscan from the original * * including the Nobel Lecture on 11 December 1913 ''Anaphylaxis''

by
Nandor Fodor Nandor Fodor (May 13, 1895 – May 17, 1964) was a British and American Parapsychology, parapsychologist, Psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst, author and journalist of Hungary, Hungarian origin. Biography Fodor was born in Beregszász, Austro-Hungaria ...
on ''SurvivalAfterDeath.org.uk'' with links to several articles on psychical research {{DEFAULTSORT:Richet, Charles Robert 1850 births 1935 deaths Physicians from Paris French physiologists French immunologists Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine French Nobel laureates Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences French hypnotists French occultists Members of the French Academy of Sciences French writers on paranormal topics French parapsychologists White supremacists Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour