Luc Montagnier
Born 1932 · Age 93
French virologist, co-discoverer of HIV, Nobel Laureate (2008), long-time Pasteur Institute researcher who later took positions in the US and China; later controversial for promoting fringe ideas.
Compare Your Trajectory
See how your career milestones stack up against Luc Montagnier and other industry leaders.
Life & Career Timeline
Born in Chabris, France
Luc Antoine Montagnier born in Chabris, Indre, France to Marianne and Antoine Montagnier.
Severe car accident as a child
Suffered multiple wounds and two days in a coma; later cited as formative in his life.
Experienced WWII exile and hardship
Family fled during the German invasion and experienced scarcity/privations during occupation; formative childhood experience.
House partly destroyed by Allied bombing
Montagnier's family home was partly destroyed during the liberation period (June 1944).
Earned science degree, University of Poitiers
Completed degree in science at the University of Poitiers; defended early research on phototaxy of chloroplasts.
Defended early research thesis on chloroplast phototaxy
Presented and defended experimental work on chloroplast orientation at Poitiers (thesis at age 21).
Hired as assistant at the Sorbonne
Became an assistant at the Sorbonne (Paris), learning cell culture and classical experimental techniques.
Earned medical degree (University of Paris)
Completed medical degree (Britannica/Wikipedia indicate medical degree in 1960).
Postdoctoral fellow at Virus Research Unit, Carshalton (UK)
Moved to Carshalton (UK) as a postdoctoral fellow in a Medical Research Council Virus Research Unit; began key RNA/virology work.
Married Dorothea Ackerman
Married Dorothea Ackerman; the couple later had three children.
Joined Glasgow Institute of Virology
Moved to Glasgow to work at the new Institute of Virology; developed soft agar culture technique to select transformed cells.
Published/selective assay for transformed cells (soft agar)
Developed and published methods to culture and detect transformed (oncogenic) cells by growth in soft agar.
Laboratory Chief at Institut Curie (Orsay)
Appointed Laboratory Chief at Institut Curie; continued work on oncogenic viruses and cell transformation.
Joined Institut Pasteur; created unit in Dept. of Virology
Asked by Jacques Monod to create a research unit in the new Department of Virology at the Pasteur Institute; focused on viral oncology and interferon research.
Ara Hovanessian joins his unit (interferon research)
Group expanded with specialists in interferon, boosting biochemical studies of antiviral mechanisms.
Demonstrated biological activity of interferon mRNA
Work showing interferon messenger RNA biologically active in cell-free systems (collaboration with De Maeyer).
Recruited Chermann and Barré-Sinoussi
Jean-Claude Chermann and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi joined Montagnier's unit to search for human retroviruses in cancers and other diseases.
Chief of Dept. of Virology and head of post-grad course at Pasteur (1980–1985)
Served as chief of the Department of Virology and headed postgraduate virology course at Institut Pasteur.
Began AIDS-related investigations
Became involved in investigation of new syndrome (AIDS) after clinicians suspected a retroviral cause.
Named virus LAV (lymphadenopathy-associated virus)
The new retrovirus isolated by his group was named LAV; later standardized to HIV by the community.
Received lymph node biopsy sample (3 Jan 1983)
Lymph node biopsy from a patient with lymphadenopathy received at Pasteur Institute; this sample led to isolation of the virus.
Published LAV isolation in Science (20 May 1983)
Montagnier, Barré-Sinoussi and colleagues published the isolation of a T-lymphotropic retrovirus (LAV) in Science.
Other groups (Gallo, Levy) confirm virus and expand assays
Robert Gallo's lab and Jay Levy's group confirmed and extended findings; serologic assays improved for antibody detection.
Isolated HIV-2 from West African patients
Montagnier isolated a second AIDS virus, HIV-2, from patients in West Africa (commonly cited as 1985).
Multiple major awards (1986)
Received several major prizes in 1986 including the Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine, Scheele Award and others recognizing HIV discovery.
Gairdner and Golden Plate awards (1987)
Montagnier received the Gairdner Award and Golden Plate Award in recognition of his work on HIV.
Franco–US agreement to share credit and patent proceeds (1987)
French and US governments arranged a 50–50 split of credit and proceeds from the early AIDS test patent; Montagnier and Gallo named co-discoverers.
Elected to Académie Nationale de Médecine / National Academy of Medicine (France)
Recognized by national medical institutions (sources list election around 1989).
NIH/OSI commissioned Roche group to analyze archival samples (Nov 1990)
Office of Scientific Integrity commissioned a Roche-led group to analyze early archival HIV samples to clarify origin dispute between labs.
Chang et al. Nature paper (1993) on origin of HTLV-IIIB
Sheng-Yung Chang and colleagues published analysis concluding the US sample derived from the French lab; clarified aspects of the 1980s dispute.
Founded World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention
Established the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention (with Federico Mayor), aimed at research/prevention in developing countries.
Moved to the United States to develop Center at Queens College (1997)
Left France to help develop a Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology at Queens College in Flushing, New York; easier US biotech translation cited.
Headed Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology at Queens College (1998–2001)
Accepted endowed chair and headed the Center from 1998 through 2001.
Prince of Asturias Award
Received the Prince of Asturias Award (recognition for scientific achievement).
Returned to Pasteur Institute as Professor Emeritus
Returned to Institut Pasteur and was named professor emeritus (source: Britannica indicates return in 2001).
Published historical essays with Robert Gallo in Science (29 Nov 2002 issue)
Gallo and Montagnier published articles recounting their roles in HIV discovery and acknowledged each other's contributions.
Awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2008)
Shared the 2008 Nobel Prize with Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (they shared half) and Harald zur Hausen for discovery of HIV and related viral causes of cancer.
Chair of editorial board, Interdisciplinary Sciences journal
Served as chair of the editorial board of the new journal that published his controversial electromagnetic signal work.
Elevated to Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur (2009)
Formal French state honor awarded (decree 31 Dec 2008; published 2009).
Published controversial papers on electromagnetic signals from DNA (2009)
Published two controversial studies claiming diluted bacterial and viral DNA in water produce detectable electromagnetic signals in Interdisciplinary Sciences.
Moved to Shanghai Jiao Tong University; accepted chair professorship
Moved to Shanghai to lead a research institute under a program to attract Nobel laureates; became full-time professor/chair at SJTU.
Received honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from Whittier College
Awarded an honorary degree in recognition of contributions to medicine/science.
Spoke at Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting (28 June 2010)
Presented work on electromagnetic properties of DNA; comments interpreted by many as supportive of homeopathy and provoked strong criticism.
Featured interview in Science (24 Dec 2010 issue coverage)
Interviewed in Science about his controversial work and move to China, where he said he sought more openness.
Returned to Paris from China (circa 2012)
Moved back to Paris after a period at Shanghai Jiao Tong University; continued defending controversial research.
Keynote at AutismOne conference (25 May 2012)
Gave keynote address at AutismOne (an anti-vaccination group), attracting criticism from mainstream scientists.
Named AACR Academy Fellow (Class of 2013)
Elected as a Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy, acknowledging lifetime contributions.
106 academics publish open letter criticizing his public statements
A group of 106 academic scientists wrote an open letter urging Montagnier to stop spreading dangerous health messages beyond his expertise.
Publicly promoted lab-leak / engineered SARS-CoV-2 hypothesis (2020)
During the COVID-19 pandemic he claimed SARS-CoV-2 was man-made and possibly linked to HIV vaccine research; claims rejected by mainstream virologists.
Interview asserting vaccines drive new COVID variants (2021)
In a 2021 interview ('Hold Up') he claimed COVID vaccination was steering variant evolution and warned of antibody-dependent enhancement; these claims lacked evidence.
Posthumous assessments and obituaries
Major journals and newspapers (New York Times, Lancet, Nature, BMJ) published obituaries noting his role in HIV discovery and later controversies.
Died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Luc Montagnier died on 8 February 2022 at age 89.
Key Achievement Ages
Explore what Luc Montagnier and others achieved at these notable ages:
Similar Trajectories
George Carlin
Born 1937 · Age 88
American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author; dubbed the 'dean of counterculture comedians.' Famous for the 'seven dirty words' routine; 14 HBO specials; multiple Grammy winner and influential cultural critic.
Peter Cook
Born 1937 · Age 88
English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter; leading figure of the 1960s British satire boom and long-time partner of Dudley Moore.
Nobuyuki Idei
Born 1937 · Age 88
Japanese business executive; president/CEO/chairman of Sony (1995–2005); later founder of Quantum Leaps Corporation and director/advisor for multiple global companies.
Les Wexner
Born 1937 · Age 88
American billionaire businessman; founder of The Limited and L Brands; built Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works into global retail brands; major Ohio philanthropist; longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein (1987–2007).
Ratan Tata
Born 1937 · Age 88
Indian industrialist and philanthropist; chairman of Tata Group/Tata Sons (1991–2012; interim 2016–2017); led Tata's globalization, major acquisitions, and extensive philanthropy and start-up investing.
Hunter S. Thompson
Born 1937 · Age 88
American journalist and author, pioneer of New Journalism and creator of Gonzo journalism; best known for Hell's Angels and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.