Philippe-Etienne Lafosse

Philippe-Etienne Lafosse

Philippe-Étienne Lafosse (born 1738 in Paris, France; died June 1820 in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, France), was a French veterinarian and the son of Étienne-Guillaume Lafosse, a farrier.

He is famous for a series of books on horse care, medicine and anatomy which feature elaborate and often highly abstracted illustrations. His works can be found today at the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, France's oldest and most prestigious veterinary school and hospital on the outskirts of Paris. At the time of the school's founding 1766 and Lafosse's work, horses played an important role in French economic, and military success and as such many scientists devoted careers to the study of equine science.