Josef Victor Rohon

Josef Victor Rohon (7 May 1845, in Temes-Buttyin – 15 March 1923) was an Austrian paleontologist and neuroanatomist.

He studied medicine, zoology, and neuroanatomy at the University of Vienna, where he was influenced by Theodor Meynert (1833–1892), Carl Claus (1835–1899), Hans Kundrat (1845–1893), and Eduard Albert (1841–1900). In 1884 he graduated magna cum laude at Munich, where he spent the ensuing years conducting paleontological research. At Munich, he worked closely with Karl Alfred von Zittel (1839–1904), performing research that included anatomical studies of conodonts.

In the spring of 1888, he relocated to St. Petersburg, where he served as a private tutor until 1895. Afterwards, he was an associate professor of histology (later for embryology) at the Karl-Ferdinands-Universität in Prague. In February 1903, he attained a full professorship of histology and embryology.

His name is associated with "Rohon-Beard cells", defined as large mechanosensory neurons found in the dorsal spinal cord of fishes and amphibians. Rohon-Beard cells are present only in the embryonic and young larval (tadpole) stages.