Pierre-Joseph van Beneden

Who was Pierre-Joseph van Beneden?

Pierre-Joseph van Beneden was a Belgian zoologist and paleontologist.

Born in Mechelen, Belgium, he studied medicine at the State University of Leuven, and studied zoology in Paris under Georges Cuvier. 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, and in 1875 a member of the Royal Society of London. He was the father of biologist Edouard van Beneden.