René Semelaigne (12 December 1855 – 16 November 1934) was a French psychiatrist and biographer born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He was the son of psychiatrist Armand Semelaigne (1820–1898) and a great-nephew of Philippe Pinel (1745-1826).
As a psychiatrist, he served as director of the Maison de santé de la Folie Saint-James à Neuilly.Sociétés savantes de France (biographical information) He is remembered for his historical studies of psychiatry, being the author of three well-regarded works: Les grands aliénistes français (1894) - The great French alienists. Involves biographical studies of Pinel, Esquirol, Ferrus, Falret, Voisin and Georget.Bulletin of the Society of Mental Medicine of Belgium by Society of Mental Medicine of BelgiumGoogle Books Les Grands aliénistes français Aliénistes et philanthropes. Les Pinel et les Tuke (1912) - Alienists and philanthropists. Pinel and Tuke. Les pionniers de la psychiatrie française avant et après Pinel - The pioneers of French psychiatry before and after Pinel; Volume 1, Paris, JB Bailliere and Son, 1930 and Volume 2, 1932.Psychiatrie.histoire (Written works)
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