Théophraste Renaudot (c. 1586 – 25 October 1653) was a French physician, philanthropist, and journalist. Born in Loudun, Renaudot received a doctorate of medicine from the University of Montpellier in 1606. He returned to Loudon where he met Cardinal Richelieu and Père Joseph. In the 1610s, Richelieu became more powerful and Renaudot followed him to Paris. Renaudot, a Protestant, converted to Catholicism once in Paris, and in short order, became the physician of Louis XIII of France. He also did a great deal to treat the poor.