Charles Robert Richet (25 August 1850 – 4 December 1935) was a French physiologist at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

known for his pioneering work in

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

. In 1913, he won the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

in Physiology or Medicine "in recognition of his work on

anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of use of emergency medication on site. It typically causes more than one of the follow ...

". 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. Nota ...

and

spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century The ''long nineteenth century'' i ...

phenomena, coining the term " ectoplasm". He also believed in the inferiority of Black people, was a proponent of

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

and presided over the French Eugenics Society towards the end of his life. The Richet line of professorships of medical science would continue through his son Charles and his grandson Gabriel. Gabriel Richet was one of the great pioneers of European

nephrology Nephrology (from Greek'' nephros'' "kidney", combined with the suffix ''-logy'', "the study of") is a specialty of adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function (ren ...

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 hypnosis and hysteria, in particular with his hysteria patient Louise Augustine Gleizes. Charcot ...

's work with then so called "hysterical" patients. In 1887, Richet became professor of

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

at the

investigating a variety of subjects such as

neurochemistry Neurochemistry is the study of chemicals, including neurotransmitters and other molecules such as psychopharmaceuticals and neuropeptides, that control and influence the physiology of the nervous system. This particular field within neuroscience ...

digestion Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food molecules into small water-soluble food molecules so that they can be absorbed into the watery blood plasma. In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intest ...

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 ...

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 environmen ...

animals, and

breathing Breathing (or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen. All aerobic creatures need oxygen for cellular ...

.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 An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. In 1914, he became a member of the

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des 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 research. It was at the ...

. Richet discovered the analgesic drug

chloralose Chloralose (also known as α-chloralose) is an avicide, and a rodenticide used to kill mice in temperatures below 15 °C. It is also widely used in neuroscience and veterinary medicine as an anesthetic and sedative. Either alone or in combin ...

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 Lucien Le Foyer (29 June 1872 – 5 October 1952) was a French lawyer, pacifist and politician. He played a leading role in French and international pacifist organizations both before the after World War I (1914–18), and after World War II (1939� ...

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 Albert I (Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi; 13 November 1848 – 26 June 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 10 September 1889 until his death. He devoted much of his life to oceanography, exploration and science. Alongside his expeditions, Albert I ...

on a scientific expedition around the French coast of Atlantic Ocean. On board Albert's ship ''Princesse Alice II'', they extracted toxin (they called hypnotoxin) produced by cnidarians such as

Portuguese man o' war The Portuguese man o' war (''Physalia physalis''), also known as the man-of-war, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is considered to be the same species as the Pacific man o' war or blue bottle, which is ...

) and sea anemone (''

Actinia sulcata ''Anemonia sulcata'', or Mediterranean snakelocks sea anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae from the Mediterranean Sea. Whether ''A. sulcata'' should be recognized as a synonym of '' A. viridis'' remains a matter of disp ...

''). In their first experiment on the ship, they injected a dog with the toxin expecting the dog to develop immunity (tolerance to the toxin), which instead developed a severe immune reaction (

hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usually referred to as an over-reaction of the immune s ...

). In 1902, they repeated the injections in their laboratory and found that dogs normally tolerated the toxin at first injection, but subsequent injection after three weeks of the first, they always developed fatal shock, regardless of the dose on the toxin used. Thus, instead of inducing tolerance (

prophylaxis Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

) which they expected, they discovered effects of the toxin as deadly. In 1902, Richet coined the term ''aphylaxis'' to describe the phenomenon, but later changed it to ''anaphylaxis'' on grounds of

euphony Phonaesthetics (also spelled phonesthetics in North America) is the study of 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 and ...

., 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: Greece 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 ...

ἀνά-, ''ana-'', meaning "against", and φύλαξις, ''phylaxis'', meaning "protection". On 15 February 1902, Richet and Portier jointly presented their experiments before the Societé de Biologie in Paris. This is regarded as the birth of allergy (the term invented 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 ...

in1906) study (

allergology Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic dermat ...

). The research helped elucidate

hay fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Signs and symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, red, i ...

asthma Asthma is a 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 wheezing, cou ...

and other

allergic reaction Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic derma ...

s to foreign substances and explained some previously not understood cases of

intoxication Intoxication — or poisoning, especially by an alcoholic or narcotic substance — may refer to: * Substance intoxication: ** Alcohol intoxication ** LSD intoxication ** Toxidrome ** Tobacco intoxication ** Cannabis intoxication ** Cocaine i ...

and sudden death. Richet continued to study on the phenomenon and was eventually 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, accord ...

in 1913.

Parapsychology

Richet held a deep interest in

extrasensory perception Extrasensory perception or ESP, also called sixth sense, 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 adopted by Duke Universi ...

and hypnosis. In 1884, Alexandr Aksakov interested him in the

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

Eusapia Palladino Eusapia Palladino (alternative spelling: ''Paladino''; 21 January 1854 – 16 May 1918) was an Italian Spiritualist physical medium. She claimed extraordinary powers such as the ability to levitate tables, communicate with the dead through he ...

. In 1891, Richet founded the ''Annales des sciences psychiques''. He kept in touch with renowned

occultists The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...

and

spiritualists Spiritualism is the metaphysics, metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and Mind-body dualism, dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spir ...

of his time such as

Albert von Schrenck-Notzing Albert Freiherr von Schrenck-Notzing (18 May 1862 – 12 February 1929) was a German physician, psychiatrist and notable psychical researcher, who devoted his time to the study of paranormal events connected with mediumship, hypnotism and tel ...

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" ...

and

Gabriel Delanne François Marie Gabriel Delanne (23 March 1857 – 15 February 1926) was a notable French spiritist, psychical researcher, writer, and electrical engineer. He is best known for his book, "''Le Phénomène spirite''" (The Spiritist phenomenon). ...

. 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 and Professor Rocco Santoliquido. Notable past presidents have included ...

in Paris, and, in 1930, full-time president. As a scientist, Richet was positive about a physical explanation for

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. Linda Gazzera medium 2

In 1894, Richet coined the term ectoplasm. Richet believed that some mediumship could be explained physically due to the external projection of a material substance (ectoplasm) from the body of the medium, but denied this substance had anything to do with spirits. He rejected the

spirit hypothesis Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

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, which he discussed 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 The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

or spirits. He investigated and studied various mediums such as

Eva Carrière Eva Carrière (born Marthe Béraud 1886 in France, died 1943),

William Eglinton William Eglinton (1857–1933), also known as William Eglington was a British spiritualist medium who was exposed as a fraud.Hereward Carrington. (1907). ''The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism''. Herbert B. Turner & Co. pp. 84–90 Massimo Po ...

, Pascal Forthuny, Stefan Ossowiecki,

Leonora Piper Leonora Piper (née Leonora Evelina Simonds; 27 June 1857 – 3 June 1950) was a famous American trance medium in the area of Spiritualism. Piper was the subject of intense interest and investigation by American and British psychic research associ ...

and Raphael Schermann. From 1905–1910, Richet attended many séances with the medium

Linda Gazzera Linda Gazzera (1890, Italy - 1942, Brazil) was an Italian spiritualist Mediumship, medium. During 1908-1909, Gazzera was investigated in a series of séances by the spiritualist Enrico Imoda who endorsed her alleged Materialization (paranormal), m ...

claiming she was a genuine medium who had performed

psychokinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

, i.e. that various objects had been moved in the séance room. Gazzera was exposed as a fraud in 1911. Richet was also fooled into believing Joaquin María Argamasilla, known as the "Spaniard with X-ray Eyes", had genuine

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...

powers, whom

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

exposed as a fraud in 1924. According to

Joseph McCabe Joseph Martin McCabe (12 November 1867 – 10 January 1955) was an English writer and speaker on freethought, after having been a Roman Catholic priest earlier in his life. He was "one of the great mouthpieces of freethought in England". Becomi ...

, Richet was also duped by the fraudulent mediums Eva Carrière and

. Historian

Ruth Brandon Ruth Brandon (born 1943) is a British journalist, historian and author. Biography Brandon began her career as a trainee producer for the BBC, working in radio and television. She moved to work in freelance journalism and as an author. She is th ...

also criticized Richet as credulous when it came to psychical research, noting "his will to believe, and his disinclination to accept any unpalatably contrary indications".

Eugenics and racial beliefs

Richet was a proponent of

, 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 Gustav Jahoda, FBA, FRSE (11 October 1920 – 12 December 2016) was an Austrian psychologist and writer. He was educated in Vienna, then subsequently in Paris and London. He studied sociology and psychology at London University before obtaining ...

has noted that Richet "was a firm believer in the inferiority of blacks", comparing

black people Black is a racialized 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; in certain countries, often in s ...

to apes, and intellectually to

imbeciles The term ''imbecile'' was once used by psychiatrists to denote a category of people with moderate to severe intellectual disability, as well as a type of criminal.Fernald, Walter E. (1912). ''The imbecile with criminal instincts.'' Fourth editi ...

.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).

References

External links

* *
Short biography and bibliography
in the Virtual Laboratory of the

Max Planck Institute for the History of Science The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte) is a scientific research institute founded in March 1994. It is dedicated to addressing fundamental questions of the history of knowledg ...

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 in Beregszász, Hungary – May 17, 1964 in New York City, New York) was a British and American parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist of Hungarian origin. Biography Fodor was born in Beregszász, Hun ...

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 Hypnosis French occultists Members of the French Academy of Sciences French writers on paranormal topics Parapsychologists White supremacists