Guillemin was born in
Dijon, France. and went to
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to work with
Hans Selye at the Institute of Experimental Medicine and Surgery at the
Université de Montréal where he received a Ph.D. in 1953. Guillemin protege,
Wylie Vale Jr., established his own laboratory at Salk in 1977; their attempts of finding releasing factors was described as "yet another furious rivalry"; and died in San Diego, California the following month, on February 21. He was married to Lucienne Jeanne Billard for 69 years, until her death in 2021 at the age of 100. They had five daughters and a son. ==Awards and honors==