Aimé Perpillou was in every respect a classical French geographer trained in Paris by the direct disciples of Vidal de la Blache and remaining faithful to the ideas and practices of Albert Demangeon, his father-in-law. He saw his role
as that of an educator and, like Demangeon, wrote useful texts for students, teachers and pupils at various stages of education. As a professor he was clear and comprehensive, displaying his belief in the unity of geography (physical, regional and cartographic), but he
monograph on the lower Rhône valley. He was an all-rounder in both teaching and research, but his preference was for rural geography. Teaching at the University of Toulouse for a quarter of a century, he pioneered the promotion of geographical research
on the physical geography of mountains but also examined human activities in harsh upland environments. He was firmly committed to the unity of the discipline of geography and insisted that theories should be tested by personal enquiries and observations
the Institut de Géographie for a decade and mentored a hundred doctoral students. He was president of the International Geographical Union, 1972–76. A long and active retirement was devoted to academic travel, scientific writing and campaigning on behalf
André Cholley was educated in the city of Lyon where he was taught by Emmanuel de Martonne. Cholley’s doctoral work on the Pre-Alps of Savoy embraced Vidalian regional geography and a Davisian approach to landscape analysis. Appointed