Theodore (Nicolas) Gobley (French: [g?bl?]), who first isolated, and ultimately determined the chemical structure of lecithin, the first identified and characterized member of the phospholipids class, and a pioneer researcher in the study and analysis of the chemical components of brain tissues, was born in Paris on 11 May 1811 and died in Bagneres-de-Luchon (a small city in central Pyrenees famous in the second half of the 19th century for its thermal waters) on 1 September 1876.