FAQ
Louyse Bourgeois
b.1563, France; d. 1636, France
Louyse (Louise) Bourgeois, a midwife in the French royal court, was a pioneer in the development of her profession. She assisted Marie de Medici, wife of King Henry IV, through the birth of six children, including the future king Louis XIII. Dedicated to advancing the practice of midwifery, she wrote Observations diverses sur la sterilité (Observations on Infertility) in 1609. The treatise, considered the most comprehensive text on obstetrics since the work of Trotula, went through many revised editions over the next century; the 1617 printing included an account of her education and a list of her clinical cases.
Related Place Setting
Related Heritage Floor Entries
Katherine Bethlen
Annie Jump Cannon
Margaret Cavendish
Mrs. Cellier
Marie Colinet
Frau Cramer
Maria Cunitz
Genevieve D'Arconville
Baroness de Beausaleil
Angelique de Coudray
Justine Dietrich
Emilie du Chatelet
Jeanne Dumeè
Sophie Germain
Anne Halkett
Mother Hutton
Josephine Kablick
Maria Kirch
Mary Lamb
Mary Lavoisier
Louise le Gras
Hortense Lepaut
Dorothea Leporin-Erxleben
Jeanne Mance
Anna Manzolini
Martha Mears
Renier Michiel
Maria Mitchell
Mary Somerville
Dorothy Wordsworth
Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum