Van Oye, Paul (1886-1969)

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Hydrobiologist and historian of science, born in Ostend on 24 August 1886 and died in Ghent on 11 October 1969.

Biography

Paul van Oye was born in Ostend on 24 August 1886. He attended secondary school at the Royal Atheneum in Ostend. In 1905, Paul Van Oye became a student at the State University of Ghent, where he obtained his doctorate in natural sciences, zoology section, on 21 July 1911. He was a student of Julius MacLeod. Van Oye then continued his studies in medicine. On 16 November 1911, he was appointed assistant professor of comparative anatomy. In 1912, he became a candidate in medicine.

At the beginning of the First World War, Van Oye moved to the Dutch East Indies. He became an assistant at the Fishing Laboratory in Batavia (Jakarta) in 1915 and, three years later, head of the Laboratory for Inland Fishing in Tasikmalaja (Java). In 1919, he was entrusted with teaching zoology and comparative dissection at the School for the Education of Indian Doctors. In 1922, he returned to Belgium. In the same year, the Minister of Colonies sent him to the Belgian Congo. Here he carried out ichthyological research for 10 months with the goal of the breeding of local fish. Two years later, he obtained the title of doctor of medicine and obstetrics at the State University of Ghent. In 1925 he became a doctor of tropical medicine. In the same year, he was appointed laboratory doctor in Congo with the special task of importing live fish species there. Live fish were transported from Antwerp to Stanleyville (present-day Kisangani). He was then entrusted with the inspection of cattle imported from the East and the control of sleeping sickness, which enabled him to cross the Eastern Province in various directions and to make countless biological observations.

On 27 October 1926, he was called back from Congo to become a lecturer at the University of Ghent. He taught zoological systematics and animal geography. During the next two years he was in charge of comparative anatomy, botanical and ethnographic geography, ethnology, general biology and physiology in various faculties. In 1935 he founded a small biological station in the Belgian Jura region. In 1937 he left for Iceland with the school ship Mercator. In 1937 he was promoted to full professor. He became director of the Zoological Museum.

During the Second World War, he was imprisoned by the occupying forces for several weeks and forced to limit his open-field research to Flanders.

He was granted emeritus status in 1956.

Van Oye became a working member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (KVAB) on 21 October 1939 and a director in 1948. At the Academy, he became a member in 1941 and, a few years later, secretary and chairman of the Bestendige Commissie voor de Geschiedenis van de Wetenschappen. He was also a member of the Commission of the National Biographical Dictionary. Paul Van Oye regularly made donations to the Academy, with these donations the P. Van Oye Fund was established after his death. This fund awards the P. Van Oye Prize.

Following in the footsteps of Julius MacLeod, Van Oye was the inspirer of the Vlaams Natuur- en Geneeskundig Congres (Flemish Congress of Nature and Medicine) and of the natural science association Dodonaea, which wanted to popularize the results of scientific research. In 1935, he was secretary and in 1937 chairman of this association. He also ensured the regular publication of the Biological Yearbook. He was also chairman of the Flemish Scientific Foundation. Van Oye was an active member of 't Zal Wel Gaan.

During his professorship, he held a number of offices. In 1929 he was vice-president of the Internationale Verenigung für theoretische und angewandte Limnologie. In 1933 he became a member of the Commissie voor Biosociologie en veeonderzoek van de Nederlandse Botanische Vereniging (Commission for Biosociology and Livestock Research of the Dutch Botanical Society). In 1942 he was appointed member of the Commissie Botanie en Paleontologie (Commission for Botany and Palaeontology) of the NFWO. In 1947 he became the founder and editor-in-chief of the journal Hydrobiologia-Acta hydrobiologica, hydrographia en protistologica. In 1950, he became president of the 11^th International Congress of Theoretical and Practical Limnology (Internationale Congres voor de Theoretische en Praktische Limnologie). In 1955 he was appointed second vice-president of the Board of Governors of the Official University of Belgian Congo and of Ruanda-Urundi and in 1958 he became a member of the High Council for Education in Belgian Congo and Rwanda-Urundi. He was involved in the planning of Ganda-Congo.

In 1960, he was co-founder and president of the Zuidnederlands Genootschap voor de Geschiedenis der Geneeskunde, Wiskunde, Natuurwetenschappen en Techniek. He was a founding member of the World Academy of Art and Science. He was an Officer of the Order of the Crown of Oaks (Luxembourg).

Work

During his training, he carried out experiments on the bacteriological control of medical operations and published the results. In 1914, he won the Prijs van de Geneeskundige refereeravonden (Prize of the Medical Reference Nights) and the Soupart Prize.
In Java, he investigated the microfauna and flora of pools, lakes and rivers. He published several works on the microflora of Java. He observed a periodic evolution of the plankton, mainly depending on the periods of drought and rain.
He wrote several publications about his research in the Belgian Congo. These publications dealt with algae, flagellates, rhizopods, rotatoria, chaetognates, fish and epiphytes. He also produced a manual for the practical study of non-parasitic micro-organisms (Handleiding bij de praktische studie van de niet-parasitaire micro-organismen). He also published on colonial issues, potamoplankton, chaetognates, cladocerae and desmidiaceae from High-Belgium and the Belgian Jura. He also wrote about the biogeographical regions of Belgium.
During the Second World War he published contributions on biogenic limestone formations, on pH as a biogeographical factor, on desmidiaceae, rotators and rhizopods, as well as on the water problem in Belgium. After the war, he had become a leading figure in the field of the microflora and fauna of water.

History of science

After reaching emeritus status in 1956, he continued to publish on numerous biological subjects, noting a growing interest in the history of the natural sciences. In 1959 he became co-founder of the periodical Scientiarum Historia, in which he wrote several contributions on Sarton, MacLeod, Staes, etc.<br.> He developed his important works on the history of sciences in the Permanent Commission for the History of Sciences. His publications were published in Verhandelingen van de Klasse der Wetenschappen.

Publications

• De plantkunde aan de Universiteit te Gent vóór de benoeming van J. Mac Leod tot professor in de botanie, Brussel: Paleis der Academiën, 1960.
• Lijst met publicaties catalogus KBR geconsulteerd op 23/09/2010 om 9u20.

Bibliography

• "In memoriam Paul van Oye", in: Scientiarium Historia, 11 (1969), nr. 4, 141.
• Rijksuniversiteit te Gent. Liber Memorialis 1913-1960. Deel IV. Faculteit der Weten­schappen, Gent, 1960 (met portret en lijst van publicaties).
• Gillis, Jan, "Oye, Paul Herman Gustaaf van," In: Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek, vol 5, Brussel: Paleis der Academiën, 1972, kol. 668-672.
• Gillis, Jan, "In Memoriam Prof. Em. Dr. P. van Oye," in Jaarboek 1969, Kon. Vl. Acad. Wet. Lett. Sch. Kunsten van België, 365-371 (met portret).
• Gillis, Jan, "Dr. P. van Oye en Dodonaea," in Biologisch Jaarboek uitgegeven door het Koninklijk Natuurwetenschappelijk Genoot­schap Dodonaea, 38 (1970), 7-15 (met portret)
• Symoens, Jean-Jacques, De plantkunde en de dierkunde, In: Robert Halleux, Geert Vanpaemel, Jan Vandersmissen en Andrée Despy-Meyer (red.), Geschiedenis van de wetenschappen in België 1815-2000, Brussel: Dexia, 2001, vol. 2, p. 263.
• De Ridder, M., "Prof. P. van Oye als wetenschapsmens", in: Biologisch Jaarboek uitgegeven door het Koninklijk Natuurwetenschappelijk Genoot­schap Dodonaea, 38 (1970), p. 16-38.