Gilles de la Tourette: the man behind the syndrome.

French neuropsychiatrist Georges Gilles de la Tourette first described in 1885 the "Maladie des Tics" which earned him eponymous fame. Both his colleagues at La Salpêtrière hospital in Paris and medical historians report that he was a highly intelligent, if irascible, character. The Gilles de la Tourette syndrome was only a very minor contribution of its author, at the time. Gilles de la Tourette's main and continued contributions were on hysteria and hypnotism. This article concentrates on his life and includes previously untranslated passages from authors of the time and, for the first time, a full English translation of his obituary written by Henry Meige.