Jacques Lacan

French psychoanalyst who gained an international reputation as an original interpreter of Sigmund Freud's work. He earned a medical degree in 1932 and was a practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in Paris for much of his career. He helped introduce Freudian theory into France in the 1930s, but he reached prominence only after he began conducting regular seminars at the University of Paris in 1953. He acquired celebrity status in France after the publication of his essays and lectures in Écrits,1966.

Lacan founded and headed an organization called the Freudian School of Paris from 1964 until he disbanded it in 1980 for what he claimed was its failure to adhere with sufficient strictness to Freudian principles. His major achievement was his reinterpretation of Freud's work in terms of the structural linguistics developed by French writers in the second half of the 20th century. The influence he gained extended well beyond the field of psychoanalysis to make him one of the dominant figures in French cultural life during the 1970s. In his own psychoanalytic practice, Lacan was known for his unorthodox, and even eccentric, therapeutic methods that were considered widely controversial.

Lacan 's works include, "Speech and Language in Psychoanalysis," 1981, "Feminine Sexuality," 1982 and "The Psychoses," 1993.

He married Marie-Louise Blondin on 29 January 1934 and divorced on 15 December 1941. He made a second marriage 30 years later with Sylvia Maklès on 17 July 1971.

Died 9 September 1981 in Paris.