Considered the father of cardiology in Quebec, Paul David was born on December 25, 1919, in Montreal, into a socially and politically engaged family. His father, Athanase David, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly and Secretary of the Province of Quebec, while his mother, Antonia Nantel, was a founding member of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. His grandfather, Laurent-Olivier David, was a Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly and Senator. Paul David began a Bachelor of Medicine degree at the University of Paris, which he completed in 1939. After earning his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Montreal in 1944, Dr. David specialized in cardiology, first at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, then at Lariboisière Hospital in Paris. He learned from renowned cardiologists Dr. Paul Dudley White and Dr. Jean Lenègre.