Jacques Guillemeau (1549 - 1613)

Jacques Guillemeau

Jacques Guillemeau was a French pioneering surgeon, obstetrician and ophthalmologist.

Born into a family of prominent Orleans physicians, he received a classical education and moved to Montpellier at the age of 21 to study medicine. With the support of his father, a respected surgeon at the court of the French king, Jacques Guillemeau studied under the country's leading physicians. In 1569 Guimault moved to Paris, and in 1574 he succeeded his teacher and royal surgeon Ambroise Paré (1510-1590). Guillemeau assisted Dr. Paré during the war in France and Flanders (1576-1580), and from 1581 he performed surgical operations at the Hotel Dieu hospital in Paris.

During his long career, Dr. Guillemeau earned a reputation as a skilled and experienced surgeon, also publishing several works that gave him a prominent place in the medical community of his time. In 1584, Guillemeau published his "Treatise on Eye Diseases", and in 1585, his "Treatise on the Ailments of the Soul". In 1609, his groundbreaking book "Happy Childbirth in Women" was published. And his "Works on Surgery", written for young surgeons, were regularly reprinted until the middle of the 17th century.