Jacques Daviel (1693 – 1762)
Jacques Daviel was an ophthalmologist and surgeon born on 11 August 1693 in La Barre-en-Ouche, France. His path into medicine began in Rouen, where he chose to apprentice under his uncle to start his surgical studies. Daviel then moved to Paris, where he joined the Hôtel-Dieu hospital to complete his education. Early in his career, Daviel volunteered as a surgeon to assist patients suffering from the plague in Marseille. In recognition of his work, he was appointed Chief Surgeon of Marseille.
From 1728, Daviel focused on his studies in ophthalmology and in 1749 was appointed oculist to King Louis XV. Daviel dedicated the rest of his career to studying eye care and performing the first experimental cataract surgeries. He suffered a stroke in early 1762 and died later that year on 30 September while travelling to Geneva, Switzerland.
Jacques Daviel’s contributions to eye care
Jacques Daviel had a profound impact on eye care knowledge throughout his lifetime. As early as 1728, he decided to dedicate himself entirely to eye diseases and to focus much of his research on cataract surgery. He seized an opportunity presented to him at the time to perform cataract surgery on cadavers.
However, it was by chance — and without realising it — that Daviel made his most significant discovery. Until 1741, Daviel believed, as was commonly held at the time, that the crystalline lens was ‘the seat of sight’. Cataract operations essentially involved displacing this lens using a needle. But in 1741, a case in which the lens could not be repositioned led him to remove it instead. To his surprise, the patient’s vision improved.
Daviel then devoted all his energy to perfecting this method of removing the crystalline lens to treat cataracts. His efforts culminated in 1752, when he published a paper detailing his surgical technique. Entitled ‘A New Method of Curing Cataracts by Extracting the Crystalline Lens’, published in the Académie de Chirurgie in Paris, it revolutionised the way cataracts were treated.
Other notable achievements of Jacques Daviel
Beyond his pioneering research into cataract surgery, Jacques Daviel was recognised with the following honours during and after his career:
- Awarded the Cross of Saint Roch by Louis XV
- Associate member of the Paris Academy of Surgery
- Elected foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
- Since 1894, the Rue Daviel in the Butte-aux-Cailles district of Paris has been named in his honour
- The Hôtel Daviel in Marseille also pays tribute to this great figure of science and medicine
- A sculpted portrait in the courtyard of the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Marseille commemorates this celebrated oculist
- The Jacques Daviel secondary school in Barre-en-Ouche bears his name as a tribute to the former oculist to the King of France
- A stone statue also honours him in Bernay
- Coordinated by the French postal authority, Albert Decaris dedicated a commemorative stamp bearing his likeness
Final thoughts
Daviel laid the foundations for other celebrated eye care experts to continue his research into improving the quality of vision and life for people with cataracts and other eye conditions.