[A great Cadurcian, Alexandre Lacassagne (1843-1924)]

The Pr. Lacassagne was born in Cahors (France) in a quiet hotel-keeper family. Educated at the Lycee Imperial, he sat for the Strasbourg Health Service School examination. There, he was acknowledged as a brilliant medical student. After the 1870-71 war, the Strasbourg School, where he has been nominated assistant-lecturer, was transfered to Montpellier. Then, he carried on with the same situation in that town. Despite his Professorship (1872), he was sent to North-Africa where, as a member of Military Health Service, he improved his clinical medicine knowledge. Later, he became teacher for forensic medicine in Lyon Faculty of Medicine and was renowned as a wonderful one as well as a medical expert. On this way, in 1899, the notorious criminal cause: the "Affaire Gouffe", made him an outstanding medical lawyer over the world; after what he wrote the "Annales d'anthropologie criminelles". At least, he is known as a writer, a sparkling speaker and an enthusiastic collector of objets d'art. He was 81 when he died consequently of a silly accident on the street, in 1924. Pr. Lacassagne is highly thought as modern forensic medicine founder.