Joseph Plateau Family and Personal Life :
- On August 27, 1840, Plateau married Augustine – Thérèse – Aimée – Fanny Clavareau: they had a son a year later.
- His daughter Alice Plateau married Gustaaf Van der Mensbrugghe in 1871, who became his collaborator and later his first biographer.
- After studying law, Joseph Plateau became one of the best-known Belgian scientists of the 19th century, remembered for his study of physiological optics, particularly the effect of light and color on the human retina.