August Vermeylen (12 May 1872, in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

– 10 January 1945, in

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city an ...

) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

writer and literature critic. In 1893 he founded the literary journal ''

Van Nu en Straks ''Van Nu en Straks'' (; ''Of Now and Later'' or ''Today and Tomorrow'') was a Flemish literary and cultural magazine that was founded in 1893 by August Vermeylen. With a cover designed by Henry van de Velde, this magazine served as a vehicle for a ...

'' (''Of Today and Tomorrow''). He studied history at the

Free University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions * Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970 *Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...

(ULB), and became a professor of literature and of art history at the ULB (1901–1923). In addition to many works of literary and art criticism, he wrote poetry and in 1906 a novel, ''De wandelende Jood'' (English:

The Wandering Jew The Wandering Jew is a mythical immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. In the original legend, a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion was then cursed to walk the Earth until the Second Coming. ...

). A cultural organization, the Vermeylenfonds, was named after him. Politically, Vermeylen supported both the unitarian Belgian state (to the point of condemning the Flemish Pro-German activists during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

) and an equal status for the Dutch language in that state. From 1921 to his death he was a senator for the

Belgian Labour Party The Belgian Labour Party ( nl, Belgische Werkliedenpartij, BWP; french: Parti ouvrier belge, POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist ...

. In 1930, he became the first rector of the newly Dutchified

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Universiteit Gent (English: Ghent University). In 1938, he became vice-president of the Senate. In 1940, he was removed from all his official functions by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

occupation force. August Vermeylen was the father of the Belgian socialist politician, Piet Vermeylen.

Bibliography

* Het twaalfjarig bestand (thesis, 1894) * Eene jeugd (essay, 1896) * Leven en werken van Jonker Jan van der Noot (thesis, 1899) * Vlaamsche en Europeesche beweging (essay, 1900) * Verzamelde opstellen, eerste bundel (1904, published again in 1922) * Verzamelde opstellen, tweede bundel (1905, published again in 1924) * Kritiek der Vlaamsche Beweging (essay, 1906) * Les lettres néerlandaises en Belgique depuis 1830 (1906) * De wandelende Jood (roman, 1906) * Quelques aspects de la question des langues en Belgique (1918) * La flamandisation de l'université de Gand / De vervlaamsching der Gentsche Hoogeschool (1920) * Geschiedenis der Europeesche plastiek en schilderkunst in Middeleeuwen en Nieuweren Tijd (studie, 3 delen, 1921-1922-1925) * Van Gezelle tot Timmermans (1923) * Impressions de Russie (1932) * Hieronymus Bosch (1939) * Beschouwingen. Een nieuwe reeks verzamelde opstellen (1942) * Twee vrienden (autobiography, 1943) * De Taak (1946) * Van de catacomben tot Greco (1946) * Verzameld werk (6 parts, 1951–1955)

Sources

August Vermeylen
(Univ. of Brussels)
History of the Vermeylenfonds

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vermeylen, August Belgian Labour Party politicians Flemish writers Flemish activists 1872 births 1942 deaths Writers from Brussels Rectors of Ghent University Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Belgian magazine founders