Professor of anatomy and chief surgeon of La Pitié, he died at thirty-nine, in 1825, in the generation that was refounding medicine on the direct observation of the body. Of his grave, he has only a bronze bust: the main inscription names his son, dean of the faculty.
The story
Pierre-Augustin Béclard died at thirty-nine, in 1825. Professor of anatomy in the Paris faculty and chief surgeon of the Pitié hospital, he applied anatomy to surgery with a brilliance his contemporaries remarked upon: his generation was rebuilding French medicine around direct observation of the body.
Born at Angers on 12 October 1785, he was the son-in-law of Antoine Dubois, professor in the faculty of medicine, and the boyhood friend of David d'Angers, met at the école centrale of their town.
A bronze bust by Théophile François Bra, placed in 1826, adorns his monument. It is the only part of the grave that concerns him.
The main inscription belongs to his son: Jules Auguste Béclard, dean of the Paris faculty of medicine and perpetual secretary of the Academy of Medicine, who died in 1887. The dean son covered over the professor father.
The grave
A family grave whose main inscription belongs to the son: “Au Professeur Jules Auguste BECLARD, Doyen de la Faculté de Médecine de Paris, secrétaire perpétuel de l'Académie de Médecine, commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur, né à Paris le 10 décembre 1817, mort à Paris le 9 février 1887.” — to Professor Jules Auguste Béclard, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris, permanent secretary of the Academy of Medicine, Commander of the Legion of Honour, born in Paris on 10 December 1817, died in Paris on 9 February 1887. The father, who died at thirty-nine in 1825, is not given prominence — only the bronze bust by Théophile François Bra (1826) pays him tribute. The son, the dean, covered over the father, the professor.
On site, do not miss
The main inscription is not his: it names his son Jules Auguste Béclard, dean of the faculty of medicine. The bronze bust by Théophile Bra, dated 1826, is the only tribute to the father.
Visitors' questions
Where is Béclard's grave?
In Division 8, avenue Casimir-Perier, first row — but the main inscription carries the name of his son Jules Auguste, dean of the faculty of medicine, who died in 1887: it is not the father who is put forward.
Xavier BichatWhat was his field?
Anatomy applied to surgery: professor in the Paris faculty and chief surgeon at La Pitié, he stood out for the brilliance of his teaching. He died at thirty-nine, in 1825.
Jean-Louis BaudelocqueWho sculpted his bust?
Théophile François Bra, in 1826 — the year after his death. It is the only part of the monument that concerns the father rather than the son Jules Auguste, whose inscription takes up the whole of the main face.
François MagendieDid he know David d'Angers?
Yes, since childhood: the two men had met at the école centrale of Angers, their home town. Béclard was also the son-in-law of Antoine Dubois, likewise a professor in the Paris faculty of medicine.
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