Maison Paul Portier - Bar-sur-Seine

20 Rue Charles Moreau is the home of Paul Portier, born in Bar-sur-Seine on May 22, 1866 (died in 1962).

He was a zoologist and marine biologist and accompanied Prince Albert I of Monaco on his expeditions. Together with Richet he was responsible for the discovery of anaphylaxis in 1902.

Jean Rostand of the Académie Française wrote: " The name of Paul Portier will certainly live on in the memory of humanity, because it is linked to one of the greatest discoveries that have marked the history of physiology and medicine... As professor at the Sorbonne and then at the Oceanographic Institute he was an eminent teacher and simulator, an inspirer of vocations... Like all men of high caliber, he was simple, modest and benevolent he was one of the few who did not leave me with the distant and repulsive memory of a Pope...". At the funeral of Paul Portier (died January 26, 1962), he said on television: "Paul Portier was one of the greatest men of France . My grief and sadness are tinged with bitterness; the fact that Paul Portier has never been better known or honored , is a disgrace to our civilization".

Paul Portier was of Scottish descent , but the Thiesse family, to which his mother belonged, left Scotland with the followers of Mary Stuart. She emigrated in 1583 and settled in France, first in Chaource and then in Bar-sur-Seine. Paul was born in Bar-sur-Seine on May 22, 1866. He was the cousin of Charles Moreau, who was mayor of Bar-sur-Seine. He learned to read at an early age. Captivated by a story about Robinson Crusoe that his relative, Edmond de Goncourt, had given him, he asked his mother to teach him to read , which she quickly did: he was then 4 years old! As a schoolboy and student he attended the Lycée de Troyes. There he met two learned entomologists: M. Jourd'heuille, a civil judge, and Abbé d'Antessanty, chaplain at the Lycée, whose memory, he says, will always remain dear to him and will determine his career. He received his baccalauréat in 1885. A neighbor, Dr. Cartereau, introduced him to natural history. He did volunteer work for 1 year with the 37th Infantry Regiment in Dijon. In 1888 he worked in the Ministry of Finance, received his degree in natural sciences in 1891 and his doctorate in medicine in 1897.

An avid observer of marine life and a navigator, Portier worked with and was friends with Prince Albert 1st of Monaco. From 1889 onwards, together with his colleague Charles Richet, he regularly went on oceanographic campaigns that stretched from Spitsbergen to the equator. As an intimate friend of Prince Albert, Professor Portier had the opportunity to come into contact with illustrious figures and crowned heads on numerous occasions.

As a doctor, Portier studied the harmful effects of noise, seasickness and the recovery of drowning patients.

Despite his work, his travels and his obligations , Professor Portier never left his native city and came here regularly to rest and work.

On January 30, 1962, he was buried in the cemetery of Bar-sur-Seine: "Paul Portier is mourned by all biologists...". The secondary school of Bar-sur-Seine is named after him.

Willem Vandenameele