René Joseph Quinton (1866–1925) was a French biologist, aviation pioneer and decorated World War I soldier.
In his biology career, he developed a treatment based on seawater injections that he called ''sérum de Quinton'', which has been abandoned by medicine.
An aviation pioneer, he was vice-president of the ''Ligue Aéronautique de France'' and a proponent of the development of aviation in France.
During World War I, he rose through the ranks to end the war as ''Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur'', with multiple awards and decorations from France and Allies.
Early life
Quinton was born on 15 December 1866, in
Chaumes-en-Brie
Chaumes-en-Brie (, literally ''Chaumes in Brie'') is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is best known as the ancient home of the Couperin family of composers and musicians.
Popula ...
(Seine-et-Marne) France. His father, Paul Edouart Quinton was a medical doctor. His mother, Marie Pauline Elisabeth Amyot, had no profession.
He attended secondary school at the
''Collège Chaptal'', in
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 ...
.
As a young adult, Quinton was interested in literature; he read and wrote poetry and started writing a novel. He was influenced by
Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...
’s work and his writing endeavors were described as perfectionist and meticulous by his friends. According to his friend Armand Charpentier, Quinton's wealthy situation allowed him to spend a lot of time in the pursuit of writing perfection, but after 10 years of writing, and not completing any project, his interests turned to biology.
He decided to enter the ''
Collège de France
The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
'' as an assistant at the ''Laboratoire de Physiologie pathologique''.
His passion lay in the study of the origins of life: for Quinton, the sea was the matrix of life, a theory on which he would base the remainder of his career in biology.
Quinton also had an interest in aviation. At the ''Collège de France'', he met French physiologist
Étienne-Jules Marey
Étienne-Jules Marey (; 5 March 1830, Beaune, Côte-d'Or – 15 May 1904, Paris) was a French scientist, physiologist and chronophotographer.
His work was significant in the development of cardiology, physical instrumentation, aviation, cinema ...
, who was working on the study of flight, and rapidly became his disciple and friend.
Biology
Quinton's interest in the origins of life and seawater as the matrix of life led him to theorize his ''Loi de constance'' and to create ''sérum de Quinton''.
Loi de Constance
Quinton posited a ''Loi de constance'' (Law of constancy) that opposed, on some points,
Darwin's theory of evolution
''Darwinism'' is a term used to describe a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others. The theory states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural sele ...
. In his ''Loi de constance'', he hypothesized that nature repeats rather than evolves.
In this ''Loi'', Quinton included the following sub categories: ''constance marine'' (marine constancy), ''constance osmotique'' (osmotic constancy) and ''constance thermique'' (thermal constancy). He reported his findings in the only book he would ever publish: ''L’eau de mer, milieu organique'', in 1904.
The publication provoked disagreements and was met with resistance, nonetheless, it was the basis for therapeutic applications that Quinton would begin in the following years.
Today, Quinton's book is published as part of the French cultural heritage, but its content is considered antiquated and the views it describes not valid.
Sérum de Quinton
Quinton's theories led him to conclude “that Seawater is the "vital liquid" of all living beings and the means of curing all kinds of disease”.
He imagined subcutaneous seawater injections as a therapeutic treatment.
In 1907, Quinton patented the ''sérum de Quinton'' (Quinton serum). He described it as seawater harvested from the Atlantic, in specific areas where he considered the water “pure” and with special precautions. The harvest was then immediately transported to Paris where it was sterilized without boiling or chemical products, brought to a specific saline concentration, and stored in vials. With this patented technique, the serum was comparable, according to Quinton, to blood. As such, it could be used to treat the following conditions:
enteritis
Enteritis is inflammation of the small intestine. It is most commonly caused by food or drink contaminated with pathogenic microbes,Dugdale, David C., IIII, and George F Longretc"Enteritis" MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, 18 October 2008. Acces ...
, constipation, diarrhea,
colitis
Colitis is swelling or inflammation
Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and ...
, newborn
gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea, is an inflammation of the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of ...
, lactose intolerance, athrepsia, and skin conditions. It was also presented as a prenatal treatment to prevent the future baby(ies) from developing
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 ...
,
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...
or
malaria
Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
, and to help expecting mothers with nausea.
He proceeded to open and fund Parisian dispensaries, reserved for destitute patients, to treat, at no charge, these conditions.
These treatments were reported, at the time, to be very successful and with no side effects.
However, they have since been abandoned by medicine and removed from the Vidal dictionary, the French dictionary that catalogs medications and dietary supplements. Today, Quinton serum continues to be sold by Quinton Laboratory as personal and hygiene products, not medicine, in the form of drinkable vials or nasal sprays.
The dog experiments
Some experiments of René Quinton, to support his theory that seawater can be used as a substitute for blood, are the dog experiments. In his 1897 experiments, Quinton reported the following. He removed the totality of a dog's blood and replaced it with sterilized seawater. The dog developed an infection and fever, but went on to recuperate within 5 days, and was still alive 5 years later. Quinton concluded that his purified seawater formula could be used as a substitute for blood transfusion.
Harriett Hall challenges the study: “There is a huge body of established scientific knowledge that would have to be overthrown before we could accept that an animal’s entire blood volume could be replaced with saline without resulting in death. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and this century-old report doesn’t even meet the standards of ordinary peer-reviewed published evidence.”
Aviation
Another area of interest for René Quinton was aviation.
In 1908, inspired by other countries offering rewards to creators of
aircraft
An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...
, as well as France's success in
ballooning Ballooning may refer to:
* Hot air ballooning
* Balloon (aeronautics)
* Ballooning (spider)
* Ballooning degeneration, a disease
* Memory ballooning
In computing, memory ballooning is a technique that is used to eliminate the need to overcommit ...
, René Quinton, along with
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...
and others, founded the ''Ligue Nationale Aérienne'', of which he was president. His goal was to set up a yearly subscription that would generate enough money to offer a prize to the first French creator to invent an ideal aircraft.
The league's role was to encourage and promote enthusiasm for aviation, with the hope that France would become a leader in the field.
Quinton also lobbied for the development of aircraft as an important way to spot injured soldiers and bring them to safety for care.
Quinton was president of the league for 4 years after which he left for the war. When he returned, Quinton drew back from this project, focusing on ''sérum de Quinton'' instead. He facilitated the fusion of his league with ''l’Association Genérale Aéronautique'' and the ''Comité National de l’Aviation Militaire''; these 3 societies combined to form the Ligue Aéronautique de France, with General Bailly as president, and Reymond and Quinton as vice-presidents.
A meeting took place in
Biskra
Biskra () is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about from Algiers, southwest of Batna, Algeria, Batna and north of Touggourt. It is nickna ...
, where several aviators presented their creations. A second meeting was planned, but Quinton died unexpectedly before then.
World War I
When
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
broke out, Quinton was not required to go to combat due to his age. Nonetheless, according to Georges Houard, Quinton's strong patriotism and love of France compelled him to go to war.
At the beginning of the war, in 1914, he fought as ''capitaine d'artillerie de réserve''. Throughout the war, his fellows and superiors described him as brave, composed and eager;
Foch wrote the following about Quinton: “Officer of the rarest intrepidity, for whom it is impossible to resume the acts of bravery. Continues to show the best example of composure, energy and drive.” He rose through the ranks to end the war as ''Commandeur de la
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
'', with multiple decorations.
Battlefronts
René Quinton fought on the following battlefronts during World War I:
Injuries
During the war, Quinton suffered 8 injuries, including receiving a
shrapnel to the nape, multiple head and face contusions, and injuries and
frostbite
Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...
to the feet.
Military titles and awards
For his war efforts, René Quinton received the following titles and awards from the French military:
* ''Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, on 20 July 1916''
* ''Officier de la Légion d'honneur, on 10 July 1917''
* ''Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur'', on 16 June 1920
* ''
Croix de guerre
The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
'', 5 Palms and 2 Stars
Quinton was also recognized in Allied countries. On 26 November 1914, he was named ''Chevalier de l'
Ordre de Léopold'' in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, and in 1916 he received the ''
Croix de guerre
The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
'' from Belgium too. He received the
Distinguished Service Cross from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
on 27 August 1917 and on 5 March 1919 from the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Death

Quinton passed away unexpectedly on 9 July 1925, from a sudden onset heart condition; he was 58 years old.
On his deathbed, he identified as a soldier: he told his comrades, while saying his final goodbyes, “and that is why I insisted to die in my soldier’s garments”.
He was with his cousin
Lucien Corpechot when he passed.
He was buried in his family vault in
Loches-sur-Ource
Loches-sur-Ource (, literally ''Loches on Ource'') is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Aube department
The following is a list of the 431 communes of the Aube department of ...
(Aube).
A statue commemorating Quinton was erected in his birth town of Chaumes-en-Brie in 1931. It featured a bronze statue sculpted by
Paul Dardé. However, in 1941, the statue was removed and melted by the German army. Today, only the base of the statue remains and can be seen in its original location in the Champ de foire of Chaumes-en-Brie.
Bibliography
During his lifetime, Quinton published his findings in biology in the following book, which is currently published as a historical heritage book, as the contents are considered out of date: ''L'eau de mer milieu organique: constance du milieu marin originel, comme milieu vital des cellules'' (1904).
Some of his written words were also compiled in the following book about war: ''Maximes sur la guerre'' (1930).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinton, Rene
1925 deaths
1866 births
19th-century French biologists
Commanders of the Legion of Honour