Jean-Martin Charcot was a neurologist.
Jean-Martin Charcot ( [ ʃɑrˈkoʊ ] [ ʃaʁko ] ; 29 November 1825 -- 16 August 1893 ) was a French neurologist and professor of anatomical pathology . He is known as `` the founder of modern neurology '' , and his name has been associated with at least 15 medical eponyms , including Charcot -- Marie -- Tooth disease and Charcot disease ( better known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , motor neurone disease , or Lou Gehrig disease ) . His work greatly influenced the developing fields of neurology and psychology ; modern psychiatry owes much to the work of Charcot and his direct followers . He was the `` foremost neurologist of late nineteenth-century France '' and has been called `` the Napoleon of the neuroses '' .