Jean-Baptiste Carnoy

Jean -Baptiste Carnoy ( born January 11 or January 22, 1836 in Rumillies in Tournai ( Belgium); † September 6, 1899 in Scuol ( Switzerland ) ) was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest and cell biologist.

After studying natural sciences, and a dissertation in this field Carnoy went to Bonn, Leipzig, Berlin and Vienna. In Bonn he worked with John von Hanstein. Then he was sent to Rome, in order to represent the diocese of Tournai. There he worked with Francesco degli Castracane Antelminelli (1817-1899) together in the natural sciences. After his vocation Back to Belgium in 1868, he should establish a course in General Biology at the University of Leuven. However, financial difficulties at the University prevented Carnoy, first, put the plan into action. He was instead vicar in Celles near Tournai. Carnoy 1876 was re-appointed to the University of Louvain, where he first taught practical microscopy and in 1879 his " Manuel de Microscopy " published. Later Carnoy founded a school of Cell Biology at the University of Leuven, the first of its kind in the world. Since 1884, he published the magazine " La Cellule ".

Carnoy dealt among other things with the true nature of membranes from what we then called " albuminoids substances " ( proteins). The fixatives still frequently used by Carnoy has been developed by him. It consists of ethanol, chloroform and acetic acid in a volume ratio of 6:3:1.

Important works

• Manuel de Microscopie à l' usage of élèves fréquentent qui l'Institut micrographique, Louvain, Peeters, 1879, 218 p.
• La cellulaire biology, Lierre, Van In, 1884, 306 p.