Death · 5 November 1927

Death of Augusta Déjerine-Klumpke, neurologist and neuroanatomist

Born in San Francisco and trained in Paris, Augusta Klumpke was among the women who opened access to hospital internships in the French capital. Her scientific career began before her marriage to Jules Déjerine. Her studies of the brachial plexus combined clinical observation with anatomical investigation.^[1][2]

Key dates and milestones

1859
She is born in San Francisco. Her family later moves to Europe and settles in Paris.^[1]
1885
She publishes observations on lesions of the lower brachial plexus.^[1][2]
1889
She defends her thesis and continues her research in neurology and neuroanatomy.^[1][2]
5 November 1927
She dies in Paris following a career devoted to research and the training of younger physicians.^[1][2]
1877
Klumpke begins medical studies in Paris and also attends science courses at the Sorbonne despite barriers imposed on women.^[1]
1883
Together with Blanche Edwards, she is among the first women admitted to the Paris hospital externship.^[1]
1914–1918
During the First World War, she organises rehabilitation at the Salpêtrière for soldiers with spinal cord injuries.^[1]

Contributions to medicine

Her work illustrates how clinical signs can help localise a lesion. She studied the relationships between deficits, nerve roots and their sympathetic connections. Her contributions are documented in her own publications as well as her collaborations with Jules Déjerine.^[1][2]
Her study of lower radicular palsy connected motor deficit, brachial plexus injury and oculopupillary signs. It showed how an association of findings could help localise a lesion, a central method in the clinical neurology of her time.^[1][2]
Her work extended beyond the eponym to polyneuropathies, lead neuropathy, neuroanatomy and heterotopic calcification after spinal cord injury. She maintained a scientific career of her own before and after her marriage to Jules Déjerine.^[1][2]
Her institutional career was also significant: the first woman to hold the title of Paris hospital intern, according to the biography, and later the first female president of the French neurological society. These milestones connected scientific work with gradual access to hospital careers.^[1][2]

Documentary sources

Augusta Déjerine-Klumpke · parcours et sources
Life in the Fast Lane
Augusta Marie Déjerine-Klumpke, neurologue et chercheuse
PubMed · National Library of Medicine

Documented history and heritage. Clinical recommendations follow MICA’s scientific review workflow. Reading these pages earns no Grade points.

Key dates and milestones

1859

She is born in San Francisco. Her family later moves to Europe and settles in Paris.^[1]

1885

She publishes observations on lesions of the lower brachial plexus.^[1][2]

1889

She defends her thesis and continues her research in neurology and neuroanatomy.^[1][2]

5 November 1927

She dies in Paris following a career devoted to research and the training of younger physicians.^[1][2]

1877

Klumpke begins medical studies in Paris and also attends science courses at the Sorbonne despite barriers imposed on women.^[1]

1883

Together with Blanche Edwards, she is among the first women admitted to the Paris hospital externship.^[1]

1914–1918

During the First World War, she organises rehabilitation at the Salpêtrière for soldiers with spinal cord injuries.^[1]

Contributions to medicine

Her work illustrates how clinical signs can help localise a lesion. She studied the relationships between deficits, nerve roots and their sympathetic connections. Her contributions are documented in her own publications as well as her collaborations with Jules Déjerine.^[1][2]

Her study of lower radicular palsy connected motor deficit, brachial plexus injury and oculopupillary signs. It showed how an association of findings could help localise a lesion, a central method in the clinical neurology of her time.^[1][2]

Her work extended beyond the eponym to polyneuropathies, lead neuropathy, neuroanatomy and heterotopic calcification after spinal cord injury. She maintained a scientific career of her own before and after her marriage to Jules Déjerine.^[1][2]

Her institutional career was also significant: the first woman to hold the title of Paris hospital intern, according to the biography, and later the first female president of the French neurological society. These milestones connected scientific work with gradual access to hospital careers.^[1][2]