Edward Van Even (1821–1905) was a Belgian archivist, writer and historian.

Life

Van Even was born in

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

on 6 December 1821. In 1846 he was appointed assistant librarian to the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (; ) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven (1968 ...

, resigning in 1853 to take up a position working for the local council as city archivist and secretary of municipal festivals. In addition to his function as archivist, Van Even was also in charge of the municipal museum, located in

Leuven Town Hall The Town Hall (Dutch language, Dutch: ) of Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, is a landmark building on that city's Grote Markt (Leuven), Grote Markt (main square), across from the monumental St. Peter's Church, Leuven, St. Peter's Church. Built ...

. From this museum grew the Stedelijk Museum Vander Kelen-Mertens, now

M - Museum Leuven M, or m, is the thirteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of several western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''em'' (pronounced ), plural ''ems''. History ...

, which after 1938 included his own collections. Van Even's sisters, who like their brother remained unmarried, donated parts of Van Even's collection to his friend Victor Demunter (1857-1939),

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of the municipal museum. Upon the death of his last surviving sister, Agnes Eugenia Van Even (1824-1911), the rest of the collection also ended up with Demunter, who transferred it to the city along with his collection in 1938. Edward Van Even was a member of the

Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature The Royal Flemish Academy for Dutch Language and Literature (, , abbr. KANTL) is an institution focused on the study and promotion of the Dutch language in Flanders. It is the Dutch-speaking counterpart of the Académie royale de langue et de li ...

, the

Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium ( , sometimes referred to as ' ) is the independent learned society of science and arts of the French Community of Belgium. One of Belgium's numerous academies, it is the French-speak ...

, and the

Royal Academy of Archaeology of Belgium The Royal Academy of Archaeology of Belgium (, ), founded in 1842, is a learned society in Belgium that works to promote research and education in the fields of archaeology and art history. In a federal country with most powers devolved to the regi ...

. He died in Leuven on 11 February 1905.Raymond van Uytven, "Even (Gérard-Edouard Van)", ''Biographie Nationale de Belgique'', vol. 33
(Brussels, 1966), pp. 304-306.

Works

* ''Les Artistes de l'Hôtel de ville de Louvain'' (1852) * ''Louvain monumental'' (1860) * ''L'Ancienne École de peinture de Louvain'' (1870) * ''Mengelingen voor de geschiedenis van Braband'' (1871) * ''Inventaire chronologique et analytique des chartes et autres documents sur parchemin appartenant aux archives de la ville de Louvain'' (1873)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Even, Edouard 1821 births 1905 deaths Writers from Leuven Belgian archivists 19th-century Belgian historians 19th-century Belgian male writers