ÃÂmile Pierre-Marie van Ermengem (1851âÂÂ1932) was a Belgian bacteriologist who, in 1895, isolated Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism, from a piece of ham that had poisoned thirty-four people.
Van Ermengem was born in Leuven on 15 August 1851. After studying in Berlin he became a professor at the University of Ghent. He became a corresponding member of the Académie royale de médecine de Belgique in 1887 and a full member in 1902, serving as secretary 1919âÂÂ1932.
He died in Ghent on 29 September 1932. His sons were the writer Franz Hellens and the art critic François Maret.