[The six final International Sanitary Conferences of 1892 to 1926, the basis of the World Health Organization].

The authors report the contributions of the last six sanitary conferences from 1886 to 1926. All of them, from 1851 to 1926, were the first roots of WHO.

[The French maritime health police in the 19th century].

The French law of 1822 created a homogeneous maritime health police all along the French coastline. Noteworthy in many respects, it was however very binding since it included some penalties of an extraordinary harshness as hard labour or even death. It was first disputed by those against the theory of contagion and the maritime and commercial circles, but subsequently it became overtaken by scientific knowledge despite numerous facilities and some important remodelling decrees were decided, one of them in 1876 just before the Pasteur revolution and another in 1896.

[The hygienist Adrien Proust, his universe, plague and his ideas on international health policy].

Adrien Proust, Marcel's father, was a remarkable specialist of hygiens. He felt very responsible for the fight against epidemics, and his part was decisive at the Venice conference in 1896. In Marseilles and nearby islands quarantines were sill useful afterwards, especially in 1901.

[Reversal in the French sociocultural environment of the meaning of the term alcoholic in men].

Are analysed the factors of appearition with the first industrial revolution of the chronic alcoholism described by Magnus Hess in 1849. In France where table wine was the usual drink its links with the consequences of addiction were totally occulted while in Anglo-Saxon countries alcohol was used for its psychotropic effects. The evolution of the mind in France to the knowledge of addiction is related.