Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem (April 19, 1839 - April 28, 1914) was a French botanist who was a native of Baillleul

Bailleul, Nord

Bailleul is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is located in French Flanders near Lille.-Heraldry:-Media:...

 in the département of Nord.

After obtaining his baccalauréat in 1856, he studied at the École Normale Supérieure

École Normale Supérieure

The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...

, and after receiving agrégation

Agrégation

In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...

 he worked in the laboratory of Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...

 (1822–1895). Here he performed research involving the cultivation of mushrooms. He is credited with creation of the eponymous "Van Tieghem cell", a device mounted on a microscope slide that he used to observe the development of a fungus' mycelium

Mycelium

thumb|right|Fungal myceliaMycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelia are found in soil and on or within many other...

.

In 1864 he earned his doctorate in physical sciences with a thesis titled Recherches sur la fermentation de l'urée et de l'acide hippurique, and two years later obtained a doctorate in natural history

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

. From 1873 to 1886 he taught classes at the École centrale des arts et manufactures

École Centrale Paris

École Centrale Paris is a French university-level institution in the field of engineering. It is also known by its original name École centrale des arts et manufactures, or ECP. Founded in 1829, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious engineering schools in France and has the special status...

, and from 1878 to 1914 was a professor at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...

. During this time (1899–1914) he was also an instructor at the Institut agronomique in Paris.

In 1871 he became a member of the Société philomathique de Paris

Philomatic society

A philomatic society is an association of persons who love sciences. The term "philomatic" is no longer in use. The philomatic societies were influential in the nineteenth century...

, and in 1876 gained membership to the Académie des sciences. In 1873 he translated botanical writings of Julius von Sachs

Julius von Sachs

Julius von Sachs was a German botanist from Breslau, Prussian Silesia.At an early age he showed a taste for natural history, becoming acquainted with the Breslau physiologist Jan Evangelista Purkyně. In 1851 he began studying at Charles University in Prague...

 from German into French as Traité de botanique conforme à l'état présent de la science. Other noted publications by Van Tieghem are as follows:

• Recherches comparatives sur l'origine des membres endogènes dans les plantes vasculaires, 1889
• Eléments de botanique, 1898
• L'Oeuf des Plantes considéré comme base de leur Classification, 1901
• Nouvelles observations sur les Ochnacées, 1903
• Sur les Luxembourgiacées, 1904
• Travaux divers: Pistil et fruit des Labiées, Boragacées...: Divers modes de Placentation: Anthères hétérogènes. : Une graminée à rhizome schizostélique: A propos de la Strasburgérie, 1907

In 1876 he was the first to describe blastomycosis

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis is a fungal infection caused by the organism Blastomyces dermatitidis...

, a fungal infection that is also known as "Gilchrist disease", named after Thomas Casper Gilchrist (1862–1927), who published a treatise on the condition in 1896.

External links

• Biography (in French)
• Gilchrist disease @ Who Named It
  Who Named It
  Who Named It? is an English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though this is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliographies. It is hosted in Norway and maintained by medical...