Léopold Nègre (15 June 1879 – 29 July 1961) was a French

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

born in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. He studied

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

, followed by courses in

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (, ) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax and rabies. Th ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. From 1907 to 1910, he served as préparateur at the laboratory of microbiology courses headed by

Amédée Borrel Amédée Marie Vincent Borrel (1 August 1867 – 14 September 1936) was a French physician and microbiologist born in Cazouls-lès-Béziers, Hérault. Biography Borrel studied natural sciences and medicine at the University of Montpellier, w ...

(1867–1936). In 1910, he obtained his doctorate of medicine. Following an internship at the Pasteur Institute in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, he was appointed laboratory chief (microbial analysis) at the Pasteur Institute in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. In 1918 he received his doctorate of natural sciences. In 1919, he was assigned to the laboratory of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

headed by

Albert Calmette Léon Charles Albert Calmette ForMemRS (; 12 July 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French physician, bacteriologist and immunologist, and an important officer of the Pasteur Institute. He co-discovered the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, an attenuat ...

(1863–1933) at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Here he took part in research of

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin The Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine is a vaccine primarily used against tuberculosis (TB). It is named after its inventors Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin. In countries where tuberculosis or leprosy is common, one dose is recom ...

(BCG vaccine). With microbiologist Alfred Boquet (1879–1947) he developed ''antigene méthylique'' (

methyl In organic chemistry, a methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, having chemical formula (whereas normal methane has the formula ). In formulas, the group is often abbreviated as ...

antigen In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule, moiety, foreign particulate matter, or an allergen, such as pollen, that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. ...

) for treatment of tuberculosis. In 1931, Nègre became chair at the Institut Pasteur, and in 1944 was named vice president of the

Société de biologie The Société de biologie () is a learned society founded in Paris in 1848. The society was conceived during the French Revolution of 1848. The members of the society held regular meetings and published the proceedings in a new scientific journal. ...

. He was also president of the Société française de la tuberculose (1950) and a member of the

Académie de Médecine An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

(hygiene section, from 1951).

Selected writings

* ''Infections à bacille pseudo-dysentériques en Algérie'' (Infections by pseudo- dysenteric bacillus in Algeria) 1916 * ''Bacilles paradysentériques isolés en Algérie'' (Paradysenteric bacilli isolated in Algeria) 1917 * ''Résultats des vaccinations triples antityphoïdiques et antiparatyphoïdiques dans les troupes d'Alger'' (Results of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

and

paratyphoid Paratyphoid fever, also known simply as paratyphoid, is a bacterial infection caused by one of three types of ''Salmonella enterica''. Symptoms usually begin 6–30 days after exposure and are the same as those of typhoid fever. Often, a gradual ...

vaccinations of troops in Algiers) 1917 * ''Lymphangite epizootique des solipèdes : contribution a l'ètude des mycoses'' ( Epizootic lymphangitis of solipeds: contribution to the study of fungi) with Alfred Boquet; 1920 * ''Antigénothérapie de la tuberculose par les extraits méthyliques de bacilles de Koch'' (Antigen therapy of tuberculosis by extracts of tubercle bacilli methyl) with Alfred Boquet; 1927 * ''Le traitement de la tuberculose par l'antigène méthylique (antigénothérapie)'' (Treatment of tuberculosis by antigen-methyl (antigen therapy) with Alfred Boquet; 1932 * ''Albert Calmette, sa vie, son oeuvre scientifique'' (

, his life, his scientific work) 1939 * ''Vaccination par le BCG par scarifications cutanées'' (BCG vaccination by skin scarification) with J. Breley; 1942 * ''Prévention et traitement spécifiques de la tuberculose par le BCG et par l'antigène méthylique'' (Prevention and treatment of specific tuberculosis with BCG and antigen methyl) 1956

References

Service des Archives de l'Institut Pasteur
(biography)
IDREF
(list of publications)

(biographies and documents) {{DEFAULTSORT:Negre, Leopold French microbiologists Physicians from Montpellier 1879 births 1961 deaths