Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org Letter to Dominique Larrey from M. Lecomte, dated 13 December 1850. Letter written in French.

Dominique Jean Larrey (1766-1842) was chief surgeon to Napoleon's armies, serving on varied campaigns including the Egyptian expedition of 1798 and the Russian campaign of 1812. A favourite of the Emperor, he was made Baron Larrey on the field at the battle of Wagram in 1809. After Napoleon's defeat, Larrey's medical reputation saved him from a fall from grace. His achievements included introducing a system of "flying ambulances" onto the battlefield, to treat and remove the injured. He also wrote a number of works on surgery, which are still widely used. Felix Hippolyte Larrey (1808-1895) was the son of Dominique Larrey, and inherited the title of Baron Larrey on his fathers death in 1842. He was chief medical officer of the army and physician to Napoleon III, and was elected president of the Academie de Medecine in 1863. As well as his medical work, Felix Larrey was the political representative for the town of Bagneres-de-Bigorre in south west France for a number of years 1850 MS. 8889/88 [Larrey, Dominique Jean (1766-1842), and Larrey, F?lix Hippolyte (1808-1895)] [archive material],

1788-1891 Published: -