Notable Alumni of University of Montpellier [Sorted List]

1. Paul Joseph Barthez

1734-1806 (aged 72)

physician physiologist professor encyclopédistes

Paul Joseph Barthez was a French physician, physiologist, and encyclopedist who developed a take on the biological theory known as vitalism.

2. Sisowath Youtevong

1913-1947 (aged 34)

politician

Sisowath Youtevong was a Cambodian prince, politician and mathematician, credited as the "Father of Cambodian Democracy", and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Cambodia from December 1946 to July 1947. He was the first to be elected prime minister.

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3. Maximilien Sorre

1880-1962 (aged 82)

geographer

Maximilien Sorre, known as Max Sorre, was a French geographer whose work was mainly in the areas of biological and human geography.

4. Harry Cleaver

1944-. (aged 82)

writer economist

Harry Cleaver Jr. is an American scholar, Marxist theoretician, and professor emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin. He is best known as the author of Reading Capital Politically, an autonomist reading of Karl Marx's Capital. Cleaver is currently active in the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico.

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5. Henricus Regius

1598-1679 (aged 81)

university teacher physicist philosopher head teacher physician

Henricus Regius was a Dutch philosopher, physician, and professor of medicine at the University of Utrecht from 1638.

6. Amédée Borrel

1867-1936 (aged 69)

physician virologist botanist university teacher

Amédée Marie Vincent Borrel was a French physician and microbiologist born in Cazouls-lès-Béziers, Hérault.

7. Thomas Platter the Younger

1574-1628 (aged 54)

university teacher diarist writer physician botanist

Thomas Platter the Younger was a Swiss-born physician, traveller, and diarist, the son of the humanist Thomas Platter the Elder. He was a professor of anatomy, botany, and medicine at the University of Basel, as well as the city physician for Basel.

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8. Jules Émile Planchon

1823-1888 (aged 65)

botanist physician

Jules Émile Planchon was a French botanist born in Ganges, Hérault. He was a brother of Gustave Planchon who also studied medicinal plants.

9. Heinz Ellenberg

1913-1997 (aged 84)

university teacher biologist writer ecologist botanist

Heinz Ellenberg was a German biologist, botanist and ecologist. Ellenberg was an advocate of viewing ecological systems through holistic means. He developed 9–point scales for rating European plant preferences for light, temperature, continentality (geographic region), nutrients, soil moisture, pH, and salinity.

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10. René-Nicolas Dufriche Desgenettes

1762-1837 (aged 75)

military physician politician

René-Nicolas Dufriche, baron Desgenettes was a French military doctor. He was chief doctor to the French army in Egypt and at Waterloo.

11. Jean Joubert

1928-2015 (aged 87)

writer children's writer poet university teacher

Jean Joubert was a French novelist, short story writer, and poet.

12. Jacques Labillardière

1755-1834 (aged 79)

explorer botanical collector zoological collector botanist

Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition. He published a popular account of his journey and produced the first Flora on the region.

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13. Matthias de l'Obel

1538-1616 (aged 78)

designer writer illustrator physician botanist

Mathias de l'Obel, Mathias de Lobel or Matthaeus Lobelius was a Flemish physician and plant enthusiast who was born in Lille, Flanders, in what is now Hauts-de-France, France, and died at Highgate, London, England. He studied at the University of Montpellier and practiced medicine in the Low Countries and England, including positions as personal physicians to two monarchs. A member...

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14. Ziza Massika

1934-1959 (aged 25)

military personnel nurse

Ziza Massika was an Algerian nurse who died during the Algerian War.

15. François Boissier de Sauvages de Lacroix

1706-1767 (aged 61)

physician botanist professor

François Boissier de Sauvages de Lacroix was a French physician and botanist who was a native of Alès, Languedoc. He was the brother of naturalist Pierre Augustin Boissier de Sauvages (1710—1795).

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16. Marie Paule Kieny

1955-. (aged 71)

virologist researcher microbiologist

Marie-Paule Kieny is a French virologist, vaccinologist, public health expert and science writer. She is currently director of research at INSERM and Chair of the board of DNDi and of the Medicines Patent Pool.

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17. Yvan Lachaud

1954-. (aged 72)

politician

Yvan Lachaud is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Gard department, and is a member of the New Centre.

18. Felix Platter

1536-1614 (aged 78)

anatomist psychiatrist university teacher pathologist botanist

Felix Platter was a Swiss physician, botanist, and diarist. He is known for his research in several areas of medicine, including ophthalmology, psychiatry and paleopathology.

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19. Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert

1741-1814 (aged 73)

physician botanist university teacher politician

Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert was a French politician, botanist, freemason, medical doctor and member of the Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Arts of Lyon.

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20. François Brottes

1956-. (aged 70)

radio personality politician

François Brottes was a member of the National Assembly of France. He represented Isère's 5th constituency from 1997 to 2012 as a member of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche. Brottes also serves as the mayor of Crolles. In 2012 he was appointed director of Réseau de Transport d'Électricité, and was replaced in the assembly by his substitute, Pierre...

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21. Johann Bauhin

1541-1612 (aged 71)

mycologist botanist university teacher physician

Johann Bauhin (12 December 1541 – 26 October 1613) was a Swiss botanist, born in Basel. He was the son of physician Jean Bauhin and the brother of physician and botanist Gaspard Bauhin.

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22. Françoise Dumas

1960-. (aged 66)

cadres de la fonction publique politician

Françoise Dumas is a French politician of La République En Marche! (LREM) and of Territories of Progress (TDP) who was a member of the National Assembly of France from 2012 to 2022, representing Gard's 1st constituency. She was previously a member of the Socialist Party.

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23. Dun Mikiel Xerri

1737-1799 (aged 62)

Catholic priest

Dun Mikiel Xerri was a Maltese patriot. He was baptised Mikael Archangelus Joseph in the parish church of Żebbuġ on 30 September 1737, the son of Bartholomew Xerri and his wife Anne. Xerri studied at different universities in Europe. He lived under the Knights of St. John during their time in Malta, as well as the French when they took...

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24. Hichem Hamdouchi

1972-. (aged 54)

chess player

Hichem Hamdouchi is a Moroccan chess grandmaster.

25. Hélène Mandroux

1940-. (aged 86)

politician

Hélène Mandroux-Colas is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party (PS) since 1982, her career in Montpellier debuted in Georges Frêche's municipal administration. Frêche gave her important responsibilities such as finances, municipal staff, legal affairs since 1995, and vice-mayor from 2001. She became mayor of Montpellier in 2004, following the resignation of Frêche, who could not cumulate the...

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26. Pierre Morel-A-L'Huissier

1958-. (aged 68)

professions libérales et assimilés politician

Pierre Morel-À-L'Huissier is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represented the Lozère department, as a member of UMP, then the Republicans, then UDI. He was deputy for Lozère's 2nd constituency until it was abolished in the 2010 redistricting of French legislative constituencies. Then from the 2012 election he represented the new constituency for the whole department until...

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27. Mélissa Plaza

1988-. (aged 38)

association football player

Mélissa Plaza is a French football player who last played for EA Guingamp of the Division 1 Féminine. She plays as a defensive midfielder. Plaza is a former women's youth international having played with the under-20 team at the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and is a currently a member of the senior team making her debut in 2009....

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28. Josias Braun-Blanquet

1884-1980 (aged 96)

university teacher botanist biologist

Josias Braun-Blanquet was an influential phytosociologist and botanist. Braun-Blanquet was born in Chur, Switzerland, and died in Montpellier, France.

29. Olivier Clément

1921-2009 (aged 88)

historian poet theologian writer

Olivier-Maurice Clément was a French Eastern Orthodox theologian who taught at St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris, France. He actively promoted the reunification of Christians (he was friends with Pope John Paul II), dialogue between Christians and people of other beliefs, and the engagement of Christian thinkers with modern thought and society.

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30. Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Lộc

1914-1990 (aged 76)

politician

Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Lộc, was an uncle of Emperor Bảo Đại, and Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam in 1954.

31. Jacques Dubois

1478-1555 (aged 77)

anatomist professor physician

Jacques Dubois was a French anatomist. Dubois was the first to describe venous valves, although their function was later discovered by William Harvey. He was the brother of Franciscus Sylvius Ambianus (François Dubois; c. 1483 – 1536), professor of humanities at the Collège de Tournai, Paris.

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32. Carl-Ludwig Wagner

1930-2012 (aged 82)

jurist politician

Carl-Ludwig Wagner was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

33. Joseph Valentin Boussinesq

1842-1929 (aged 87)

hydraulic engineer university teacher physicist mathematician school teacher

Joseph Valentin Boussinesq was a French mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to the theory of hydrodynamics, vibration, light, and heat.

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34. Mustapha Adib

1972-. (aged 54)

diplomat politician university teacher

Mustapha Adib Abdul Wahed is a Lebanese diplomat, politician and academic who has served as Lebanese Ambassador to Germany since 11 July 2013. In 2020, he was chosen as the prime minister-designate but stepped down when he failed to form a cabinet. He is well known for his academic research and expertise work in the fields of Human and State...

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35. Édouard Roche

1820-1883 (aged 63)

mathematician astronomer meteorologist university teacher

Édouard Albert Roche was a French astronomer and mathematician, who is best known for his work in the field of celestial mechanics. His name was given to the concepts of the Roche sphere, Roche limit, and Roche lobe. He also was the author of works in meteorology.

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36. Bartolomé Bennassar

1929-2018 (aged 89)

university teacher writer historian assistant professor

Bartolomé Bennassar was a French historian and writer. He specialized in Spanish and Latin American history.

37. Urs Widmer

1938-2014 (aged 76)

writer

Urs Widmer was a Swiss novelist, playwright, an essayist, and a short story writer.

38. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed

1960-. (aged 66)

politician minister

Ismaïl Ould Cheikh Ahmed is a Mauritanian diplomat and politician. He served as a United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen and was therefore head of the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen from 25 April 2015 to 26 February 2018.

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39. David Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral

1942-. (aged 84)

solicitor politician

David James Fletcher Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral, MBE, PC is a British Conservative politician who served as a member of the Cabinet during the Thatcher and Major ministries, and was appointed to the Privy Council in 1990.

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40. Bernard de Jussieu

1699-1777 (aged 78)

naturalist botanical collector botanist physician

Bernard de Jussieu was a French naturalist, younger brother of Antoine de Jussieu.

41. John of Jenstein

1350-1400 (aged 50)

Catholic priest writer philosopher composer poet

Jan of Jenštejn was a Bohemian archbishop, composer and poet. From 1379 to 1396 he was the Archbishop of Prague. He studied in Bologna, Padua, Montpellier and Paris.

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42. Jean Astruc

1684-1766 (aged 82)

professor writer theologian exegete physician writer

Jean Astruc was a professor of medicine in France at Montpellier and Paris, who wrote the first great treatise on syphilis and venereal diseases, and also, with a small anonymously published book, played a fundamental part in the origins of critical textual analysis of works of the Bible. Astruc was the first to propose and hypothesize, by using the techniques...

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43. Jakob Arjouni

1964-2013 (aged 49)

science fiction writer playwright writer

Jakob Bothe, better known by his pen name Jakob Arjouni, was a German author. He received the 1992 German Crime Fiction Prize for One Man, One Murder.

44. Gilles-Éric Séralini

1960-. (aged 66)

molecular biologist professor

Gilles-Éric Séralini is a French molecular biologist, political advisor and activist on genetically modified organisms and foods. He is of Algerian-French origin. Séralini has been a professor of molecular biology at the University of Caen since 1991, and is president and chairman of the board of CRIIGEN.

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45. Charles Debbas

1884-1935 (aged 51)

lawyer politician journalist

Charles Debbas was a Greek Orthodox Lebanese political figure. He was the first President of Lebanon (before independence) and served from 1 September 1926 to 2 January 1934, under the French Mandate of Lebanon (known as Greater Lebanon). He also served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon from January to October 1934.

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46. Pierre Belon

1517-1564 (aged 47)

zoologist ichthyologist historian diplomat writer

Pierre Belon was a French traveller, naturalist, writer and diplomat. Like many others of the Renaissance period, he studied and wrote on a range of topics including ichthyology, ornithology, botany, comparative anatomy, architecture and Egyptology. He is sometimes known as Pierre Belon du Mans, or, in the Latin in which his works appeared, as Petrus Bellonius Cenomanus. The Russian physiologist...

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47. Pierre Charron

1541-1603 (aged 62)

writer philosopher cleric theologian

Pierre Charron was a French Catholic theologian and major contributor to the new thought of the 17th century. He is remembered for his controversial form of skepticism and his separation of ethics from religion as an independent philosophical discipline.

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48. François Gigot de la Peyronie

1678-1747 (aged 69)

surgeon

François Gigot de la Peyronie was a French surgeon who was born in Montpellier, Languedoc, France. His name is associated with a condition known as Peyronie's disease.

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49. Antoine Clot

1793-1868 (aged 75)

medical administrator zoological collector physician surgeon

Antoine Barthelemy Clot was a French doctor known as Clot Bey while practicing in Egypt.

50. Joseph Pitton de Tournefort

1656-1708 (aged 52)

professor botanical collector pteridologist scientific collector botanist

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort was a French botanist, notable as the first to make a clear definition of the concept of genus for plants. Botanist Charles Plumier was his pupil and accompanied him on his voyages.

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51. William, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe

1724-1777 (aged 53)

military leader aristocrat

Wilhelm, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg, born Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Graf zu Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg, was a German ruler of the County of Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg, an important military commander in the Seven Years' War, Generalfeldzeugmeister of the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a British field marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) and the grandson of George I of Great Britain.

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52. Jacques Curie

1855-1941 (aged 86)

chemist executive university teacher scientist mineralogist

Jacques Curie was a French physicist and professor of mineralogy at the University of Montpellier. Along with his younger brother, Pierre Curie, he studied pyroelectricity in the 1880s, leading to their discovery of some of the mechanisms behind piezoelectricity.

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53. Gaspard Bauhin

1560-1624 (aged 64)

university teacher mycologist physician botanist naturalist

Gaspard Bauhin or Caspar Bauhin, was a Swiss botanist whose Pinax theatri botanici (1623) described thousands of plants and classified them in a manner that draws comparisons to the later binomial nomenclature of Linnaeus. He was a disciple of the famous Italian physician Girolamo Mercuriale and he also worked on human anatomical nomenclature.

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54. Albert Zafy

1927-2017 (aged 90)

surgeon politician

Albert Zafy was a Malagasy politician and educator who served as the fourth president of Madagascar from 1993 to 1996. In 1988, he founded the National Union for Democracy and Development (UNDD).

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55. Jean Pierre Flourens

1794-1867 (aged 73)

anatomist physiologist professor neuroscientist politician

Marie Jean Pierre Flourens, father of Gustave Flourens, was a French physiologist, the founder of experimental brain science, and a pioneer in anesthesia.

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56. Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc

1580-1637 (aged 57)

numismatist naturalist botanist art collector philosopher

Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, often known simply as Peiresc, or by the Latin form of his name, Peirescius, was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant, who maintained a wide correspondence with scientists, and was a successful organizer of scientific inquiry.

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57. René Grousset

1885-1952 (aged 67)

historian curator art historian

René Grousset was a French historian who was curator of both the Cernuschi Museum and the Guimet Museum in Paris and a member of the prestigious Académie française. He wrote several major works on Asiatic and Oriental civilizations, with his two most important works being Histoire des croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem (1934–1936) and The Empire of the...

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58. Samuel-Auguste Tissot

1728-1797 (aged 69)

university teacher physician

Samuel Auguste André David Tissot was a notable 18th-century Swiss physician.

59. Arnaldus de Villa Nova

1258-1313 (aged 55)

theologian alchemist diplomat philosopher physician

Arnaldus de Villa Nova was a physician and a religious reformer.

60. Manouchehr Eghbal

1909-1977 (aged 68)

university teacher physician politician

Manouchehr Eghbal was an Iranian physician and royalist politician. He was the Prime Minister of Iran from 1957 to 1960.

61. Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol

1772-1840 (aged 68)

psychiatrist

Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol was a French psychiatrist.

62. Thomas Sydenham

1624-1689 (aged 65)

physician

Thomas Sydenham was an English physician. He was the author of Observationes Medicae (1676) which became a standard textbook of medicine for two centuries so that he became known as 'The English Hippocrates'. Among his many achievements was the discovery of a disease, Sydenham's chorea, also known as St Vitus' Dance. To him is attributed the prescient dictum, "A man...

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63. Guy de Chauliac

1300-1368 (aged 68)

physician canon surgeon

Guy de Chauliac, also called Guido or Guigo de Cauliaco (c. 1300 – 25 July 1368), was a French physician and surgeon who wrote a lengthy and influential treatise on surgery in Latin, titled Chirurgia Magna. It was translated into many other languages (including Middle English) and widely read by physicians in late medieval Europe.

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64. Valérie Gauvin

1996-. (aged 30)

association football player

Valérie Marie Christelle Gauvin is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Montauban.

65. Jacques Bompard

1943-. (aged 83)

professions libérales et assimilés pensioner politician

Jacques Bompard is a French politician who has presided over the League of the South (LS) since he co-founded in 2010. He served as Mayor of Orange from 1995 to 2021 and a member of the National Assembly for Vaucluse from 1986 to 1988, elected at-large, before returning from 2012 until 2017, when he represented its 4th constituency.

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66. Gaston Thorn

1928-2007 (aged 79)

banker politician lawyer diplomat resistance fighter

Gaston Egmond Thorn was a Luxembourgish politician who served in a number of high-profile positions, both domestically and internationally. He most prominently served as prime minister of Luxembourg (1974–1979), President of the United Nations General Assembly (1975), and president of the European Commission (1981–1985).

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67. Julien Sanchez

1983-. (aged 43)

permanent politician miscellaneous persons without work under 60 excluding retirees politician

Julien Sanchez is a French politician who is a Member of the European Parliament since July 2024.

68. Hans Sloane

1660-1753 (aged 93)

scientific collector entomologist botanist collector naturalist

Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet, FRS was an Anglo-Irish physician, naturalist, and collector. He had a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Museum, the British Library, and the Natural History Museum, London.

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69. Paul Gachet

1828-1909 (aged 81)

art collector psychiatrist physician painter

Paul-Ferdinand Gachet was a French physician most famous for treating the painter Vincent van Gogh during his last weeks in Auvers-sur-Oise. Gachet was a great supporter of artists and the Impressionist movement. He was an amateur painter, signing his works "Paul van Ryssel", referring to his birthplace: Rijsel is the Dutch name of Lille.

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70. Conrad Gessner

1516-1565 (aged 49)

bibliographer university teacher botanist naturalist linguist

Conrad Gessner was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zurich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his talents and supported him through university, where he studied classical languages, theology and medicine. He became Zurich's city physician, but was able to spend much of his time on collecting, research and writing. Gessner compiled...

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71. Henri Joyeux

1945-. (aged 81)

essayist political activist oncologist surgeon

Henri Joyeux is a French oncologic surgeon, nutrition specialist and writer.

72. Stamen Grigorov

1878-1945 (aged 67)

physician scientist microbiologist

Stamen Gigov Grigorov was a prominent Bulgarian physician and microbiologist. He discovered the Lactobacillus bulgaricus bacillus, used in the making of yogurt.

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73. Uta Ranke-Heinemann

1927-2021 (aged 94)

writer Catholic theologian university teacher theologian

Uta Ranke-Heinemann was a German theologian, academic, and author. In 1969, she was the first woman in the world to be habilitated in Catholic theology. She held a chair of ancient Church history and the New Testament at the University of Duisburg-Essen. When her license to teach was revoked by the bishop because of her critical position in matters of...

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74. Adamantios Korais

1748-1833 (aged 85)

literary critic philologist linguist philosopher writer

Adamantios Korais or Koraïs was a Greek scholar credited with laying the foundations of modern Greek literature and a major figure in the Greek Enlightenment. His activities paved the way for the Greek War of Independence and the emergence of a purified form of the Greek language, known as Katharevousa. Encyclopædia Britannica asserts that "his influence on the modern Greek...

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75. Qasim Amin

1863-1908 (aged 45)

philosopher Protestant reformer writer jurist reformer

Qasim Amin was an Egyptian jurist, Islamic Modernist and one of the founders of the Egyptian national movement, as well as a co-founder of Cairo University. Qasim Amin was one of the Arab world's "first feminists" though his "feminism" has been the subject of scholarly controversy. His advocacy of greater rights for women catalyzed debate over women's issues in the...

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76. Ahmed Shawqi

1868-1932 (aged 64)

writer playwright linguist translator poet

Ahmed Shawqi, nicknamed the Prince of Poets (Arabic: أمير الشعراء Amīr al-Shu‘arā’), was an Egyptian poet laureate, linguist, and one of the most famous Arabic literary writers of the modern era in the Arab World.

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77. Didier Raoult

1952-. (aged 74)

Professeur des universités – Praticien hospitalier microbiologist infectious disease physician

Didier Raoult is a retired French physician and microbiologist specialising in infectious diseases. He taught about infectious diseases at the Faculty of Medicine of Aix-Marseille University (AMU), and in 1984, created the Rickettsia Unit of the university. From 2008 to 2022, Raoult was the director of the Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes. He gained significant...

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78. Guillaume Musso

1974-. (aged 52)

writer novelist

Guillaume Musso is a French novelist. He is one of the most popular contemporary French authors.

79. Ramon Llull

1232-1316 (aged 84)

missionary astrologer philosopher theologian writer

Ramon Llull TOSF, sometimes anglicized as Raymond Lully, was a Mallorcan Catholic philosopher, theologian, poet, missionary, apologist and former knight. He invented a philosophical system known as the Art, conceived as a type of universal logic to prove the truth of Christian doctrine to interlocutors of all faiths and nationalities. The Art consists of a set of general principles and...

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80. Robert Ménard

1953-. (aged 73)

journalist essayist politician

Robert Ménard is a French politician and former journalist who has served as Mayor of Béziers since 2014.

81. Sahle-Work Zewde

1950-. (aged 76)

diplomat politician

Sahle-Work Zewde is an Ethiopian diplomat who served as president of Ethiopia from 2018 to 2024, the first woman to hold the office. She was elected as president unanimously by members of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly on 25 October 2018.

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82. Benedict XIII

1649-1730 (aged 81)

friar Catholic priest transitional deacon

Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor, known as el Papa Luna or Pope Luna, was an Aragonese nobleman who was antipope with the regnal name Benedict XIII during the Western Schism.

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83. Thomas Browne

1605-1682 (aged 77)

writer physician writer philosopher physician

Sir Thomas Browne was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science, medicine, religion and the esoteric. His writings display a deep curiosity towards the natural world, influenced by the Scientific Revolution of Baconian enquiry and are permeated by references to Classical and Biblical sources as well as the idiosyncrasies...

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84. Nostradamus

1503-1566 (aged 63)

mathematician astrologer astronomer physician pharmacist

Michel de Nostredame, usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book Les Prophéties (published in 1555), a collection of 942 poetic quatrains allegedly predicting future events.

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85. Petrarch

1304-1374 (aged 70)

Catholic cleric writer autobiographer philosopher translator

Francis Petrarch, born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest humanists.

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86. Philippe Pinel

1745-1826 (aged 81)

physician psychiatrist psychologist zoologist

Philippe Pinel was a French physician, precursor of psychiatry and incidentally a zoologist. He was instrumental in the development of a more humane psychological approach to the custody and care of psychiatric patients, referred to today as moral therapy. He worked for the abolition of the shackling of mental patients by chains and, more generally, for the humanisation of their...

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87. Mikhail Gurevich

1892-1976 (aged 84)

military flight engineer engineer inventor aircraft pilot

Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich was a Soviet aircraft designer who co-founded the Mikoyan-Gurevich military aviation bureau along with Artem Mikoyan. The bureau is famous for its fighter aircraft, rapid interceptors and multi-role combat aircraft which were staples of the Soviet Air Forces throughout the Cold War. The bureau designed 170 projects of which 94 were made in series. In total, 45,000...

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88. François Rabelais

writer novelist physician writer humorist

François Rabelais was a French writer who has been called the first great French prose author. A humanist of the French Renaissance and Greek scholar, he attracted opposition from both Protestant theologian John Calvin and from the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Though in his day he was best known as a physician, scholar, diplomat, and Catholic priest, later he...

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89. Alexander Grothendieck

1928-2014 (aged 86)

mathematician university teacher

Alexander Grothendieck, later Alexandre Grothendieck in French, was a German-born French mathematician who became the leading figure in the creation of modern algebraic geometry. His research extended the scope of the field and added elements of commutative algebra, homological algebra, sheaf theory, and category theory to its foundations, while his so-called "relative" perspective led to revolutionary advances in many areas...

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90. Alexis Corbière

1968-. (aged 58)

professors scientific professions teacher politician

Alexis Corbière is a French politician. He has been member of the National Assembly for the 7th constituency of the Seine-Saint-Denis department since 2017. Corbière was also a spokesperson for La France Insoumise and the party's leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the 2017 French presidential election, before falling out of favor with party leadership prior to the snap 2024 legislative election,...

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91. Mohed Altrad

1948-. (aged 78)

writer rugby union executive businessperson

Mohed Altrad is a French-Syrian billionaire businessman, rugby chairman and writer, born c. March 1948. He was born to a very young mother and his father gave him away to his grandparents at age four following his mother's death. In 2015, Altrad was named Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year.

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92. Renaud Laplanche

1970-. (aged 56)

entrepreneur

Renaud Laplanche is a French-American entrepreneur and business executive. He is the co-founder and CEO of the fintech company, Upgrade, Inc. Prior to founding the company, Laplanche co-founded and served as the CEO of Lending Club, an American peer-to-peer lending company, for a decade. Before his tenure at Lending Club, he also co-founded and led TripleHop Technologies, the maker of...

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93. Rima Hassan

1992-. (aged 34)

human rights defender jurist political activist politician

Rima Hassan Mobarak is a French jurist and politician of Palestinian origin, born in the refugee camp of Neirab, near Aleppo, Syria.

94. Carolus Clusius

1526-1609 (aged 83)

university teacher zoologist physician botanist translator

Charles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius, seigneur de Watènes, was an Artois doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientific horticulturists.

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95. Enver Hoxha

1908-1985 (aged 77)

politician partisan

Enver Halil Hoxha was an Albanian communist revolutionary, statesman and Marxist–Leninist political theorist who was the leader of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 until his death, a member of its Politburo, chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania, and commander-in-chief of the Albanian...

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96. Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri

1976-. (aged 50)

jurist lawyer politician

Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri is a Moroccan lawyer and politician of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), and currently the mayor of Marrakesh as well as the Minister of National Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and Urban Policy.

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97. Nabila Mounib

1960-. (aged 66)

scientist professor politician

Nabila Mounib is a Moroccan politician who currently serves as a member of parliament (MP) for the Casablanca-Settat constituency in the House of Representatives. She also served as General Secretary of the Unified Socialist Party from 2012 to 2023. She is the first woman to be elected head of a Moroccan party.

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98. Mohammed Moussaoui

1964-. (aged 62)

university teacher mathematician Christian minister

Mohammed Moussaoui is the president of the French Council of Muslim Faith.

99. Thomas Mensah

1950-2024 (aged 74)

scientist entrepreneur chemical engineer engineer inventor

Thomas Owusu Mensah was a Ghanaian-American chemical engineer and inventor who contributed to the development of fiber optic manufacturing and nanotechnology. He had 14 patents, and was inducted into the US National Academy of Inventors in 2015. In 2017, Mensah served as editor-in-chief of the textbook Nanotechnology Commercialization, published by John Wiley & Sons.

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100. Taha Hussein

1889-1973 (aged 84)

university teacher literary critic novelist linguist literary historian

Taha Hussein was among the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a leading figure of the Arab Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Arab world. His sobriquet was "The Dean of Arabic Literature" (Arabic: عميد الأدب العربي). He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature twenty-one times.

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