Abstract
René Sudre was an active metapsychist (parapsychologist) since the very beginning of the Institut Métapsychique International (IMI) of Paris. He was well-known for his various chronicles on paranormal phenomena, especially his obsession to separate metapsychic research from spiritism. A brief biographical sketch is given that also describes his careers as a journalist and populariser of science. For forty years Sudre pursued a naturalist agenda : examining the scientific enigmas of the 20th century that were the subject matter of parapsychology. At first he played a key role in the IMI (1921-1926), but had to leave this metapsychic research foundation after a clash. He went on to have a distinguished international career while remaining one of the most prominent French psychists. In 1956, he published his Traité de Parapsychologie translated into several languages which still is an impressive textbook. He made valuable contributions to parapsychology on both experimental and theoretical issues, for instance with his model of prosopopesis-metagnomy which helped him to counter spiritualist interpretations of the phenomena. This article tries to recall a forgotten pioneer of parapsychology, and some of his central ideas.