Recognized as one of the world's foremost nutritionists, Jean Mayer (1920-1993) was a researcher, university professor, presidential adviser, consultant to government and international organizations, and president and subsequently chancellor of Tufts University.

A naturalized citizen, Mayer was born in Paris, France, on February 19, 1920. The older of two children, he was the son of André and Jeanne Eugenie Mayer, both physiologists. His father, a president of the French Academy of Medicine and member of the League of Nations Commission on Hunger, later played an important role in founding the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). During Jean's youth conversations at home often centered on hunger and malnutrition, as well as on the subject of physiology.

After completing his secondary education, Jean enrolled in the University of Paris, where he was awarded a B.Litt. degree (1937), B.S. (1938), and M.Sc. (1939). A visit to the United States and...