1782-1863

French Physician and Social Reformer

Louis-René Villermé was a physician who devoted his life to working for the relief of the suffering among impoverished workers. Early in his career, he decided to abandon private practice and devote himself to social and scientific research to benefit the working class. He was especially appalled by the horrors of child labor and worked to establish laws to prohibit the exploitation of children in factories and mines.

After attending a day school in Lardy, Villermé moved on to a college in Paris and decided to study medicine at the new School of Health. In 1803, during the war between France and Great Britain, many medical students were called to serve as military doctors. Villermé was appointed as surgeon and soon rose to the rank of surgeon-lieutenant. He served with distinction on battlefields in Germany, Poland, and...