Nostradamus was expelled from medical school.

Nostradamus was expelled from medical school.

Nostradamus enrolled in the University of Avignon in 1519 at the age of 15, but was forced to leave a year later when the town was stricken by plague and the university closed its doors. He subsequently spent eight years traveling throughout France, Italy and Spain researching herbal remedies while working as an apothecary and helping victims of the plague. In 1529, Nostradamus enrolled at the University of Montpellier (one of the world’s oldest medical institutions still in operation today) but was expelled shortly after the university learned that he had worked as an apothecary—a trade believed to be inferior to that of a doctor and one expressly banned by university regulations (it was not until 1572 that the College of Apothecaries was founded at Montpellier). There continues to be some debate as to whether he returned later to complete his medical degree, although there is no evidence to prove that he did. The expulsion document signed by procurator Guillaume Rondelet, however, still exists in the faculty library.