Joseph-Frédéric-Benoît Charrière
Encyclopedia
Joseph-Frédéric-Benoît Charrière (March 19, 1803 – April 28, 1876) was a Swiss-born French manufacturer of surgical instruments.
Charrière was born in Cerniat
, in the Canton of Fribourg
, Switzerland. He moved to Paris
at age 13, and was apprenticed to a manufacturer of knives. In 1820 he founded a company manufacturing surgical instruments, which quickly grew to 400 employees by around 1840, and was world-famous by his death. He became a naturalized French citizen in 1843.
He developed and improved a number of instruments, especially hypodermic needle
s and catheter
s; the French catheter scale
is named after his work. Several of his apprentices also became well-known instrument makers, including Georges-Guillaume-Amatus Lüer, Louis-Joseph Mathieu, and Adolphe Collin in Paris; Josef Leiter in Vienna
; and Camillus Nyrop in Copenhagen
.
He was inducted into the Legion of Honour in 1851, and died in 1876 in Paris.
Charrière was born in Cerniat
Cerniat
Cerniat is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.-Geography:Cerniat has an area, , of . Of this area, or 40.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 54.8% is forested...
, in the Canton of Fribourg
Canton of Fribourg
The Canton of Fribourg is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the west of the country. The capital of the canton is Fribourg. The name Fribourg is French, whereas is the German name for both the canton and the town.-History:...
, Switzerland. He moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at age 13, and was apprenticed to a manufacturer of knives. In 1820 he founded a company manufacturing surgical instruments, which quickly grew to 400 employees by around 1840, and was world-famous by his death. He became a naturalized French citizen in 1843.
He developed and improved a number of instruments, especially hypodermic needle
Hypodermic needle
A hypodermic needle is a hollow needle commonly used with a syringe to inject substances into the body or extract fluids from it...
s and catheter
Catheter
In medicine, a catheter is a tube that can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel. Catheters thereby allow drainage, administration of fluids or gases, or access by surgical instruments. The process of inserting a catheter is catheterization...
s; the French catheter scale
French catheter scale
The French scale or French gauge system is commonly used to measure the size of a catheter. It is most often abbreviated as Fr, but can often abbreviated as FR or F. It may also be abbreviated as CH or Ch in French speaking countries...
is named after his work. Several of his apprentices also became well-known instrument makers, including Georges-Guillaume-Amatus Lüer, Louis-Joseph Mathieu, and Adolphe Collin in Paris; Josef Leiter in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
; and Camillus Nyrop in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
He was inducted into the Legion of Honour in 1851, and died in 1876 in Paris.