Soon after, he moved to Paris to practise medicine under the mentorship of his father. Charles followed in his father's footsteps and, in 1607, he graduated from the University of Montpellier at the age of 23.

The outfit also consisted of gloves, boots, and a hat, which was made of waxed leather.Ī Physician Wearing a Plague Preventive Costume in Marseille, 1720īut who was Charles Delorme, apart from the inventor of the plague preventive costume?Ĭharles was the son of Jacques Delorme, a professor at the University of Montpellier who had great connections among the nobility. He created the 'plague preventive costume', which consisted of a long overclothing garment (Moroccan), which went from the neck all the way down to the ankle, the idea being that the air could not penetrate it.

In 1619, the bubonic plague erupted in Paris, and an experienced French physician named Charles Delorme was about to have an idea. However, in the midst of the chaos, a man came up with a new invention, one that would possibly help protect the physicians treating patients who'd contracted the plague. All anyone could do was remove the corpses to prevent the virus from spreading further and killing even more people.įor doctors – or physicians as they were called during the early modern period – this situation was unbearable. A Terrified Man Realising He Has Just Contracted the Plague, Surrounded by a Group of PeopleĮdward Matthew Ward (1816–1879) Wellcome CollectionĪs the death toll continued to rise, no remedy was found against the disease.

Who created the plague doctor