Melsens was born in Leuven on 11 July 1814, first of at least 5 children to Henri Melsens and Marie Henriette Françoise Hamoir. He was first home-schooled by his mother and went on to high school in Leuven. He studied ancient languages, as well as English, German and Italian, and began his career in the offices of a commercial firm in Antwerp, with the Josson brothers. Not really having a commercial streak, he decided to devote the rest his life to the study of science. On the advice of his mother and his fellow student
Jean Servais Stas, he went to Paris to study chemistry and physics in
Jean-Baptiste Dumas's private laboratory. He shared an apartment with Stas. Back in Belgium, he obtained the chair of physics and chemistry at the
Royal Veterinary School of Cureghem and permanent examiner at the Belgian
Royal Military Academy. He was appointed correspondent of the
Royal Academy of Belgium, on 16 December 1846 and became a member of the institution on 15 December 1850. He was made knight in the
Order of Leopold in 1856 or 1857, before his marriage to Wilhelmine Jeanne Marie Koli on 30 July 1857. He was director of the
Classe des sciences in 1859. Melsens suffered from poor health throughout his life, and died at the age of 71 on 20 April 1886 in Brussels. He is buried in
Evere. ==Scientific achievements==