Pierre-Joseph Van Beneden

Life Born in Mechelen, then part of the First French Empire, he studied medicine at the State University of Leuven and studied zoology in Paris under Georges Cuvier (1769–1832). In 1831, he became curator at the natural history museum in Leuven, and from 1836 until 1894, was a professor of zoology at the Catholic University of Leuven. In 1842, he became a member of the Académie des sciences de Belgique, becoming its President in 1881. In 1875, he became a foreign member of the Royal Society of London, and in 1884, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

He was the father of biologist Edouard van Beneden (1846–1910). Pierre-Joseph van Beneden died at age 84 in Leuven, Belgium.

Work Van Beneden was a specialist in the field of parasitology, being known for his comprehensive studies on the development, transformation, and life-histories of parasitic worms. In 1858, a treatise on this subject won the Grand prix des sciences physiques of the Institut de France. It was published in the "International Scientific Series" (1875), under the title Les commensaux et les parasites dans le règne animal and was translated into English and German. He had used the term earlier in 1873 in a communication to the Royal Academy of Belgium.

Distinctions Pierre-Joseph van Beneden (statue in Mechelen)Van Beneden attended the celebration of the tercentenary of the University of Edinburgh and was there made an honorary LL.D. He was a foreign member of the Royal Society and also of the Linnæan, Geological, and Zoological societies of London. He was president of the Royal Belgian Academy in 1881, and was created Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold on the occasion of his professorial jubilee. He became a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1859.

The extinct Carboniferous fish Benedenius is named after him, whose type species van Beneden had initially described as Paleoniscus deneensis.

Books A selection of books by Pierre-Joseph van Beneden with full text available. Mémoire sur les vers intestinaux (1858) Recherches sur la faune littorale de Belgique: crustacés (1861) Les poissons des côtes de Belgique, leurs parasite et leurs commensaux (1870) Animal parasites and messmates (1876) Histoire naturelle des balénoptères (1888) Histoire naturelle des cétacés des mers d'Europe (1889)