The name “Charcot” can often be confusingly taken to refer to “Charcot’s disease” (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), the Charcot Foundation (which supports research into multiple sclerosis), and the man himself—Jean-Martin Charcot. In November 2025, we will celebrate the bicentenary of his birth. It is a fitting moment to revisit the life of this brilliant, celebrated, and yet problematic neurologist at times.

Born in Paris in 1825, Jean-Martin Charcot is considered one of the founding figures of modern neurology. He was the first to recognise multiple sclerosis as a distinct disease, at a time when its highly variable symptoms were often misattributed to other conditions. He made the first clinical diagnosis of MS in a living patient in 1868 at Salpêtrière based on meticulous observation – a diagnosis that was later confirmed by autopsy. He rigorously described the histologic features of the disease, i.e. those now-famous demyelinating plaques in the brain and spinal cord, and produced himself remarkably precise drawings of the lesions which are still referenced in some medical texts today. Combining clinical observation with post-mortem investigation, this approach marked a turning point in the history of neurological pathology.

The very setting of the Salpêtrière sheds light on this development: Far more than a hospital, it was a city within a city, a place of care, but also of confinement. Thousands of women were institutionalised there for medical, social, or moral reasons. Against this backdrop, Charcot devised a clinical method rooted in exacting observation, at a time when psychiatry was still in its infancy and often tainted by moral judgement. He drew, photographed, and categorised symptoms as one might classify specimens. From this ambiguous setting emerged a scientific revolution that was halfway between medical progress and institutional oppression.

Yet scientific advancement cannot be recounted without confronting its darker side. At the Salpêtrière, female patients (often poor women) were diagnosed with what was then termed “hysteria.” They were institutionalised without genuine consent and were routinely showcased during Charcot’s famous “Tuesday lectures.” Hypnosis, convulsions, “theatrical” postures: these demonstrations captivated students and intellectuals from across Europe, including Freud, Babinski, and Gilles de la Tourette.

Long framed as educational exercises, these public sessions are now clearly seen as exploitative. They reflect how society at the time treated vulnerable women, namely as objects of curiosity, bodies to be studied, controlled, and displayed.

The scope of Charcot’s immense scientific influence is inseparable from the duty to remember the women who were instrumentalised in its unfolding. He paved the way for a neurology grounded in observation, classification, and anatomical pathology. He described amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known in French-speaking countries as “Charcot’s disease,” a term often confused with MS, and trained generations of physicians. He also helped bridge medicine and fundamental science, at a time when mental illness was still largely broached through theological or legal doctrines. 

Charcot’s many contributions include identifying primary lateral sclerosis and locomotor ataxia (linked to tertiary syphilis), as well as advancing the understanding of epilepsy, Huntington’s chorea, and speech disorders. He was among the first to assert that certain neurological diseases had organic rather than spiritual or moral origins, thereby laying the foundations for a rational medicine of the nervous system.

Two centuries on, his legacy has to be viewed in all its complexity, with major advances for medicine, but also practices that cause discomfort and call for reflection. A comprehensive reckoning with this legacy is essential if we are to move forward on the ethical and scientific fronts.

For nearly 40 years now, Charcot’s name has lived on in a very different way through the Belgian Charcot Foundation in Belgium, which supports researchers committed to deepening our understanding of multiple sclerosis.

This rigorous and dedicated research effort has one goal: to defeat the disease and improve the lives of the people affected.

We could never walk alone on this path. Your support, trust and commitment are essential, and we are grateful to have you on board.