British neurologist and author Oliver Sacks has passed away.

Oliver Sacks, a talented scientist and smuggler, whose works bear witness to an insatiable curiosity and a great humanity, has helped to demystify neurological pathologies that are often misunderstood and to give patients the respect they deserve. He was particularly keen to reveal the unknown abilities of those affected.

Adapted to cinema and theatre, his books, stories about his experience with his patients, such as L'éveilou The man who thought his wife was a hat, have enjoyed global success.

During his long career in the United States, Oliver Sacks played through his writings, a key role in a better understanding of neurological disorders such as autism or Parkinson’s disease and in disseminating scientific culture to the general public.

Knowing he was doomed, he had delivered New York Times, last February, the moving testimony of lucidity and courage of a great man of science and a humanist in the face of death.

I extend my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.