Early Life
Lefebure was born in Paris, France. His mother, Claire de Saint-Rémy, was a painter and poet. His father, a lawyer, published a magazine about thermal and tourist laws. He attended the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, the high school which has produced the largest number of famous French men. All his life, Dr. Lefebure kept a fond memory of his science teachers.
At age 17, he attended the "P.C.N." (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), which was meant as a preparatory year before the study of Medicine. He graduated among the first of several hundred students, although he was the youngest.
He started at the age of 13, simultaneously to his academic studies, to express an interest in methods of personal development, yoga and spiritual experiences. This was mainly because Dr. Lefebure lived in the famous 'Latin quarter' of Paris, which was the only place where bookshops specialized in these fields could be found at the time. His early research was greatly supported by his mother, who knew about her son's interest and who would find him the best books. At the early age of 15, he had already passionately studied all the works of the philosopher and founder of anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner. Though much later, after his discoveries on the phosphenes, Dr. Lefebure distanced himself from Steiner's work.
At the age of 18, he began to study medicine. His main interests lied in anatomy, histology, physiology and physics applied to medicine, fields in which he obtained top marks but, like Darwin, he never had any interest in pathology or clinical medicine, though he had to study those subjects anyway. He became an extern of the Hospitals of Paris, choosing the neurology and children psychiatry services.
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