Luc Montagnier, virologist who discovered the human immunodeficiency virus, is born

On 18 August 1932, Luc Montagnier was born in Chabris, France. He studied natural sciences at the University of Poitiers and received his license of sciences from the University of Paris in 1955. In 1960 he qualified for his doctorate in medicine at the same university. Montagnier became research director of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in 1974 and in 1985 professor at the Pasteur Institute. Dr. Montagnier is best known for his 1983 discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which has been identified as the cause of AIDS. This discovery led directly to the development of a test for detecting the presence of HIV in blood samples. His discovery of HIV was met with some controversy when American scientist Robert Gallo claimed he discovered HIV a year later. But in 1992 the scientific community agreed it was Montagnier that should be credited with the discovery.