A chemist, he set out principles of cell theory; a doctor to the poor, he was prosecuted for the illegal practice of medicine. He knew prison and ten years of banishment — his wife died during one of his imprisonments. Four hundred thousand people followed his funeral.
The story
François-Vincent Raspail was born at Carpentras in January 1794. A chemist and biologist, between 1825 and 1836 he set out principles of cell theory, and invented tissue-staining techniques that make him one of the founders of modern microscopy.
An uncompromising republican, he was imprisoned several times under the July Monarchy. It was during one of those spells inside that his wife, Henriette Troussot, died, in 1853: the monument on his grave tells that, and nothing else.
His medicine was popular in the strict sense: he spread rules of hygiene and antisepsis through the poor quarters — camphor, cleanliness, fresh air — and his yearly “Manuel annuaire de la santé” sold hundreds of thousands of copies. He treated the poor for nothing and was prosecuted for practising medicine without a licence.
A socialist candidate for the presidency in 1848, banished to Belgium for ten years, he was elected a deputy in 1869 and remained one until his death.
He died at Arcueil on 7 January 1878; four hundred thousand people followed the funeral. He lies in Division 18 with Henriette and their son, the deputy Benjamin Raspail.
The grave
A sculpture of white marble signed Antoine Etex and dated 1854, whose subject is a fact of the dead man's life: a spectre in its shroud, one hand clutching the bars. It is Henriette Troussot, his wife, who died in 1853 during one of his imprisonments, shown holding out her hand to the prisoner. Few monuments in the cemetery tell so precise a story. The inscription, for its part, is purely administrative — “François Vincent Raspail, born at Carpentras (Vaucluse) on 24 January 1794, died at Arcueil (Seine) on 7 January 1878” — and gives a date of birth that differs by a few days from that of the registers. His son, the deputy Benjamin Raspail, who died in 1899, rests with them.
On site, do not miss
The spectre's hand closed on the bars — the detail that makes this sculpture the most poignant in the cemetery.
Visitors' questions
Where is Raspail's grave?
In Division 18, at the Grand Rond junction, second row — not far from Casimir Périer's mausoleum and Joseph Fourier's Egyptian-style monument. The white marble sculpture makes it instantly recognisable.
Joseph FourierWhat does the sculpture on his grave show?
A shrouded spectre, one hand clutching prison bars: it is his wife Henriette, who died in 1853 during one of his spells in prison, reaching out to her jailed husband. The work is by Antoine Etex and dated 1854.
Auguste BlanquiWho was François-Vincent Raspail?
A chemist, one of the founders of modern microscopy, and a doctor to the poor who spread the rules of hygiene through the working-class districts. A republican, he was imprisoned several times and banished to Belgium for ten years.
Claude BernardHow many people attended his funeral?
Four hundred thousand, in January 1878: one of the largest processions Père-Lachaise has ever seen, on a par with that of Jules Michelet. He had been a deputy since 1869 and had treated patients free of charge for forty years.
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