Louis Hymans (1829—1884) was a Belgian writer, lecturer and politician.

Life

Hymans was born in Rotterdam on 3 May 1829Charles Pergameni, "Hymans (Louis)", in ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

''
vol. 29
(Brussels, 1956), 708-711. to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

doctor originally from

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...

. In the year of his birth his family moved to what would soon become Belgium. They first lived in Brussels and later in Antwerp, where Louis attended the state secondary school. After a run-in with a teacher he had lampooned, he completed his secondary education in Ghent while living with a family friend, Henri Moke. He went on to study philosophy and letters at

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

, while beginning to build a literary reputation by writing for the stage. His father died in 1848, obliging him to abandon his studies and focus on earning a living through writing, primarily as a journalist. From 1850 to 1856 he was a frequent contributor to ''

L'Indépendance Belge ''L'Indépendance Belge'' (1843–1940), initially published as ''L'Indépendant'' (1831–1843), was a politically liberal newspaper of record published in Brussels, Belgium. The first issue appeared on 6 February 1831, the last on 13 May 1940. Th ...

'', as well as to other periodicals. Jean Stecher, "Louis Hymans", ''Annuaire'' (1886), pp. 257-382. In 1856 he covered the coronation of

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Grand Du ...

for ''Le Nord'', and from 1857 to 1859 he was the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of '' L'Etoile Belge''. From 1853 he also taught national history at the Musée de l'Industrie and became a public lecturer. From 1859 to 1870, Hymans sat in the

Belgian Chamber of Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (; ; ) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered to be the "lower house" of the Federal Parliament. Members and elections Article 62 o ...

as a "doctrinaire" member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, frequently speaking in debates and taking a particular interest in

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

state education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

, the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

child labour Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...

, the language question, and

electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems that alters how public desires, usually expressed by cast votes, produce election results. Description Reforms can include changes to: * Voting systems, such as adoption of proportional represen ...

. From 1866 to 1878 he was the director of ''L'Echo du Parlement Belge''. On 10 May 1880 he was elected a corresponding member of 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 ...

. He died in

Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...

on 22 May 1884 and was buried in

Ixelles Cemetery Ixelles Cemetery (, ; ), located in Ixelles in the southern part of Brussels, is one of the major cemeteries in Belgium. ''Ixelles Cemetery'' also refers to a neighbourhood with a lot of bars and restaurants for students, north of the actual c ...

. His son

Paul Hymans Paul Louis Adrien Henri Hymans (23 March 1865 – 8 March 1941), was a Belgian politician associated with the Liberal Party. He was the second president of the League of Nations and served again as its president in 1932–1933. Life Hymans was ...

, likewise a Liberal politician, would twice serve as president of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

Publications

* ''Robert le Frison, drame en trois actes'' (1847), first performed Ghent, 17 March 1847 * ''Le Gondolier de Venise, opéra comique'' (1847), first performed Antwerp * ''Les Jeux innocents'' (1852), first performed at the Théâtre Royal des Galeries, Brussels, 23 October 1852 * ''Cours public et gratuit d'histoire nationale'' (1854), inaugural lecture given at

Brussels Town Hall The Town Hall (, ; , ) of the City of Brussels is a landmark building and the seat of that municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is located on the south side of the Grand-Place, Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), opposite the Goth ...

, 4 November 1854 * ''Le Parti de la paix au Parlement d'Angleterre'' (1854), translations of the parliamentary speeches of Gladstone, Cobden, Bright, Sidney-Herbert and Sir James Graham relating to the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

* ''Notice historique sur le port d'Anvers'' (1854) * ''Belgique depuis 1830'' (1855), a poem marking the 25th anniversary of Belgian independence * ''La famille Baroni'' (1855) * ''Les fêtes de juillet 1856'' (1856), describing the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Belgian monarchy * ''Le Jardin zoologique de Bruxelles'' (1856) * ''Les lettres moscovites'' (1857) * ''L'Église et les libertés belges'' (1857) * ''La famille Buvard, scènes de mœurs bruxelloises'' (1858) * ''Cantate pour l'inauguration de la Colonne du Congrès'' (1859) * ''Des enquêtes parlementaires en Angleterre et en France, à propos de l'enquête sur les élections de Louvain'' (1859) * ''La question italienne'' (1860) * ''Histoire populaire de la Belgique'' (1860) * ''Le Rhin monumental et pittoresque'' (1860) * ''André Bailly, roman'' (1861) * ''Discours prononcé à la Chambre des Représentants, le 8 décembre 1861'' (1862) * ''Histoire populaire du règne de Léopold Ier roi des Belges'' (1864) * ''Histoire politique et parlementaire de la Belgique, de 1814 à 1830'', vol. 1 (1869) * ''Lord Palmerston, la France et la Belgique (1831)'' (1871) * ''Notes et souvenirs'' (1876) * ''Types et Silhouettes'' (1877) * ''Manuel de l'histoire de Belgique à l'usage des écoles primaires'' (1879) * ''Réforme électorale'' (1880) * ''La Belgique contemporaine'' (1880) * ''Histoire parlementaire de la Belgique de 1831 à 1881'' (3 vols, 1881–1883) * ''Le Congrès national de 1830 et la Constitution de 1831'' (1882) * ''Bruxelles à travers les âges'' (1884) * ''Journal d'un voyage en Russie'' (1884)

References

19th-century Belgian writers 19th-century Belgian politicians 1829 births 1884 deaths Liberal Party (Belgium) politicians Belgian lecturers {{Brussels-politician-stub