Lucien Pierre Auguste Constant Solvay (7 October 1851 - 15 August 1950) was a Belgian journalist, art historian and poet. He was the first

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 ''

Le Soir ''Le Soir'' (, ) is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Founded in 1887 by Émile Rossel, it was intended as a politically independent source of news. Together with '' La Libre Belgique'', it is one of the most popular Francophone newsp ...

''.

Life

Solvay was born in

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Saint-Josse-ten-Noode ( French, ) or Sint-Joost-ten-Node ( Dutch, ), often simply called Saint-Josse in French or Sint-Joost in Dutch, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part o ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, on 7 October 1851 to Théodore Jean Baptiste Solvay, a virtuoso pianist (and piano teacher to the Duke of Brabant), and Fanny Van Helmont, the last direct descendant of the alchemist

Jan Baptist van Helmont Jan Baptist van Helmont ( , ; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from Brussels. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be ...

. After dropping out of medical school he studied law at the

Université libre de Bruxelles The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

while also following classes at the

Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels ( ''(ArBA-EsA)''; ) is an art school in Brussels, Belgium, founded in 1711. Starting from modest beginnings in a single room in Brussels Town Hall, Brussels' Town Hall, it has since 1876 been operat ...

. Rather than pursue either law or art professionally, he became a journalist and poet. He was associated with the periodicals ''La Gazette'', ''La Nation'',

le Ménestrel ''Le Ménestrel'' (, ''The Minstrel'') was an influential French music journal published weekly from 1833 until 1940. It was founded by Joseph-Hippolyte l'Henry and originally printed by Poussièlgue. In 1840 it was acquired by the music publishe ...

de Paris, ''Le Soir'', and others.Jeroen Janssens, ''De Belgische natie viert: de Belgische nationale feesten, 1830-1914'' (Leuven University Press, 2001), p. 129 n51. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a contributor to the

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th ...

''Cassandre'', as a result of which he was expelled from 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 ...

on 25 May 1945. 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 ...

(Brussels) on 15 August 1950.

Works

* ''L'Art et la liberté'' (1881) – on art and liberty * ''Belle-Maman'' (1884) – a novel * ''Le Paysage et les paysagistes: Théodore Verstraete'' (1897) – on landscape in the work of Theodoor Verstraete * ''L'Evolution théâtrale'' (2 vols., 1922) – on theatre history * ''Le Golgotha'' (1923) – a novel * ''Une vie de journaliste'' (1934) – autobiography * ''Petites chroniques du temps présent'' (1938) – a collection of his journalism * ''Mémoires d'un solitaire'' (1942) – autobiography

Honours

* Member of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solvay, Lucien 1851 births 1950 deaths Belgian journalists Belgian male journalists Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Belgian collaborators with Nazi Germany