Alphonse Roersch (1870–1951) was a Belgian philologist, professor at the University of Ghent.Louis Bakelants
Nécrologie: Alphonse Roersch (1870-1951)
'' Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire'', 29 (1951), pp. 999-1001.

Life

Roersch was born in Liège on 3 November 1870, and was educated at the Athénée royal de Liège, where he placed first in Latin. He graduated

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1891 and

Candidate of Law Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. ...

in 1892. He studied in Paris (1892-3) and Berlin (1893-4) and began teaching at

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when th ...

in 1895. He took a particular interest in Latin Humanists, publishing studies of Joannes Loensis (van Loo) and of

Nicolas Cleynaerts Nicolas Cleynaerts (Clenardus or Clenard) (5 December 1495 – 1542) was a Flemish grammarian and traveler. He was born in Diest, in the Duchy of Brabant. Life Cleynaerts was a follower of Jan Driedo. Educated at the University of Leuven, he ...

, and of the history of classical philology in Belgium. In 1907 he was appointed professor in Ghent.Victor Tourneur, "Roersch, Alphonse", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (French; "National Biography of Belgium") 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 ' ...

''
vol. 32
(Brussels, 1964), 622-625. All the articles on humanists published in the ''

'' between 1894 and 1938 were his work. He was also a contributor to the bibliographic reference work ''

Bibliotheca belgica Bibliotheca may refer to: * ''Bibliotheca'' (Pseudo-Apollodorus), a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends * ''Bibliotheca historica'', a first century BC work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus * ''Bibliotheca'' ( ...

''. In 1913, after Ferdinand van der Haeghen's death, Roersch and Paul Bergmans jointly took over the editorship of the latter project. During the First World War, Roersch was active in relief efforts. He was elected a corresponding member of the

Académie Royale de Belgique The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB) is a non-governmental association which promotes and organises science and the arts in Belgium by coordinating the national and international activities of its constituent academies su ...

in 1922, and a full member in 1932. In 1935 he succeeded

Henri Pirenne Henri Pirenne (; 23 December 1862 – 24 October 1935) was a Belgian historian. A medievalist of Walloon descent, he wrote a multivolume history of Belgium in French and became a prominent public intellectual. Pirenne made a lasting contributi ...

as chair of the board of the Royal Library of Belgium. He retired in 1944 due to ill health and died in Leuven on 31 July 1951.

Works

* ''Histoire de l'humanisme belge à l'époque de la Renaissance'' (2 vols., -1933)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roersch, Alphonse 1870 births 1951 deaths Academic staff of Ghent University Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium