Correspondence Between Octave Lebesgue, Known as Georges Montorgueil, and Gilles de la Tourette

Abstract

Octave Lebesgue (1857–1933), better known by the pen name Georges Montorgeuil, was a contemporary of Georges Gilles de la Tourette. They were brought together by their anticlerical, progressive political ideas and by friends in common, and both made significant advances in their professional careers during the last decade of the nineteenth century. Their epistolary exchange is conserved in the French National Archives in Paris, but has been neglected until now. Beyond their close friendship, it reveals the mutual favors exchanged between them. Well-connected in the political world of the Third Republic, Montorgueil helped build Gilles de la Tourette’s reputation. The detriments of this media coverage came at a time when Gilles de la Tourette’s illness began to disrupt his behavior and weaken his judgment. Decline marked the final years of this neuropsychiatrist, whose fame had been in part due to the support of his journalist friend.