Augustus Van Dievoet (,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: Augustus Divutius, French: Auguste, 3 May 180331 October 1865) 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 ...

legal historian Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has Sociocultural evolution, evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and operates in the wider context of social history. C ...

and

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

. His son, Jules Van Dievoet, also a Supreme Court advocate, married Marguerite Anspach (1852-1934), the daughter of

Jules Anspach Baron Jules Victor Anspach (20 July 1829 – 19 May 1879) was a Belgian politician and mayor of the City of Brussels, best known for his renovations surrounding the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871). He is buried in Brussels Cemetery. A ...

, who served as burgomaster of Brussels in 1863–1879.

Biography

Augustus Van Dievoet studied at the Imperial Lyceum of Brussels (''Lycée Imperial de Bruxelles''). Van Dievoet demonstrated an exceptional capacity for academic work, excelling in his study of humanities and winning numerous prizes in Latin and Greek humanities at the College. He went on to study law at the

State University of Louvain The State University of Leuven was a university founded in 1817 in Leuven in Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was distinct from the Old University of Leuven (1425-1797) and from the Catholic University of Leuven, ...

, where he received his doctorate in law on 24 March 1827. Van Dievoet was called to the bar on 7 April 1827 and became a member of the Bar Association between 1838 and 1848. Around this time, Van Dievoet became a judge at the Court of First Instance of Brussels and a member of the Board of Discipline for lawyers at the Court of Cassation. In 1842, he moved a new home at No. 24

Rue Neuve The () or (Dutch), meaning "New Street", is a pedestrian street in central Brussels, Belgium. It runs between the Place de la Monnaie/Muntplein to the south and the Place Charles Rogier/Karel Rogierplein to the north. The Rue Neuve and it ...

, which he bought from the Hausmann-Hirsch family. Van Dievoet sold the property in 1847. On 3 August 1848, after twenty-one years as a lawyer at the Court of Appeal, Augustus Van Dievoet was appointed by Royal Decree an advocate of the Supreme Court. Van Dievoet and his colleagues Hubert Dolez and Augustus Orts were the most eminent lawyers of the time. Van Dievoet is best known as one of the first historians of the law of independent Belgium. He was a student of

Jean-Joseph Raepsaet Jean-Joseph Raepsaet (29 December 1750 in Oudenaarde – 19 February 1832) was a Belgian politician and historian. Biography Jean-Joseph Raepsaet was born to a family that had grown from rural civil servants in the south-east of the County of Flan ...

, Jean-François-Michel Birnbaum, his teacher at the State University of Louvain, and

Friedrich Carl von Savigny Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a German jurist and historian. Early life and education Savigny was born at Frankfurt am Main, of a family recorded in the history of Lorraine, deriving its name from the cast ...

. He founded the Juridical library in the Palace of Justice of Brussels. He was a founding member of the second ''

Société des douze The ''Société des douze'' ( French; ) was scholarly and literary dining club in Brussels. The first society Its precursor, the '' Société de littérature de Bruxelles'' () founded on 10 January 1800, was deprecated by the government of ...

''.

Publications

Van Dievoet devoted his Latin thesis at the

in 1827 to ancient Belgian customs (''De origine diversarum consuetudinum localium regni nostri''). This work was a great success and was often cited in scholarly works and international works. In 1843, Adolphe Roussel commented on Van Dievoet's work in his Encyclopedia of Law: "In a remarkable thesis published in Leuven in 1827, Van Dievoet tried to find the origin of Belgian customs. Regrettably, he has not pursued this work further, which showed promise of new and ingenious viewsAdolphe Roussel, ''Encyclopédie du droit'', 1843.".

Bibliography

* 1827 : Baron Frédéric de Reiffenberg, ''Archives pour servir à l'histoire civile et littéraire des Pays-Bas'', faisant suite aux ''Archives philologiques'', tome 3, Louvain, édition Michel, 1827, pp. 253–254. * 1829 : Jean-François-Michel Birnbaum, "Ueber den gegenwärtigen Zustand der Gesetzgebung und Rechtswissenschaft im Königreich der Niederlande", in: ''Kritische Zeitschrift für Rechtswissenschaft und Gesetzgebung des Auslandes'', herausgegeben von Mittermaier und Zachariä, Heidelberg, 1829, p. 143 et p. 159. * 1833 : Baron Frédéric de Reiffenberg ''et alii'', '' Messager des sciences historiques, des arts et de la bibliographie de Belgique ou nouvelles archives, historiques, littéraires et scientifiques'', vol. I, Brussels, 1833, p. 305. * 1840 : Johan Hendrik Beucker Andreae, ''Disquisitio de origine juris municipalis Frisici'', 1840, p. 29. * 1843 : Adolphe Roussel, ''Encyclopédie du droit'', Bruxelles, 1843, p. 21, note 1. * 1846 : Jean Jacques Gaspard Foelix, ''Revue de droit français et étranger'', 1846, p. 949. * 1847 : ''Revue des revues de droit publiées à l'étranger'', recueil trimestriel, 1847, p. 53. * 1847 : Jacques Britz, ''De l'ancien droit belgique ou histoire de la jurisprudence'', 1847, p. 62. * 1859 : N. Funck ''et alii'', ''L'horticulteur praticien, revue de l'horticulture française et étrangère'', Paris-Bruxelles, 1859, p. 116. (felicitations to advocate Van Dievoet) et p. 143 (médaille de vermeil). * 1865 : ''Bulletin du bibliographie belge'', 1865, p. 492. * 1869 : Gustave Duchaine, Edmond Picard, ''Manuel pratique de la profession d'avocat en Belgique'', 1869, p. 20. * 1882 : Antoine Alexandre et Barbier, Joseph-Marie, ''Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes'', Paris, 1882, p. 744. * 1884 : Léon Vanderkindere, ''L'université de Bruxelles, notice historique'', Brussels, 188, "Liste des fondateurs de l'université libre de Bruxelles", p. XL: "Vandievoet, avocat, Rue des Bogards". * 1886 : ''La Belgique maçonnique'', 2e édition, Bruxelles, librairie Tillot, 1886 (il y est erronément mentionné sous le nom d'Antoine Van Dievoet, avocat, Bruxelles, rue des Bogards 8 au lieu de 16). * 1936-1938 : Baron Paul Verhaegen, "Jean-Auguste Van Dievoet, jurisconsulte", in : ''

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 ' ...

'', tome 26, 1936-1938, coll. 384-385. * 1968 : John Gilissen, Professeur à l'Université de Bruxelles, "Un procès de pillages commis à Bruxelles au début de la Révolution de 1830. L'affaire Londens et consorts", in : ''Mélanges offerts à G. Jacquemyns'', Bruxelles, 1968, éditions de l'ULB, p. 331 et p. 341. * 1873 : ''Patria Belgica, encyclopédie nationale ou exposé méthodique de toutes les connaissances'', Bruxelles, 1873, p. 410. * 1873 : J. B. Vanderstraeten-Levieux, ''Membres de la juridiction consulaire de Bruxelles'', Bruxelles, 1873. * 1898 : Louis Lartigue, ''La juridiction consulaire en Belgique'', Brussels, Bruylant, 1898, p. 45. * 1944 :

Charles Terlinden Charles Terlinden (1878—1972) was a Belgian historian, professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, and papal chamberlain.Henri Haag, "Terlinden, Charles", ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale''vol. 3(Brussels, 1994), 323-325. Life Terlinden was ...

, ''La révolution de 1830 racontée par les affiches'', 1944, p. 146. * 1945 : Louis Robyns de Schneidauer, "Il y avait rue Neuve...", in : ''Revue des Amateurs'', août 1945, pp. 13–15 et septembre 1945, pp. 51–53. * 1950 : Roger Moretus Plantin de Bouchout, ''Demeures familiales, notices historiques sur la maison Plantin à Anvers et quelques propriétés,'' Anvers, De Sikkel, 1950. * 1969 : "Ascendance van Dievoet du lignage Sweerts", in : ''les Lignages de Bruxelles'', 1969, n°40, p. 156. * 1979 : Chevalier Georges van Hecke, ''Notes pour servir à l'histoire du Barreau de Cassation'', Bruxelles, 1979 * 1985 : Madame Dolez, "Les Anspach d'Est en Ouest", dans ''Le Parchemin'', Bruxelles, 1985, pp. 380–381, note 9. * 2012 : Bart Coppein et Jérôme de Brouwer, ''Histoire du barreau de Bruxelles / 1811–2011 / Geschiedenis van de balie van Brussel'', Bruxelles, Éditions Bruylant, 2012, pp. 88, 90, 93, 200. * 2012 : Ellen Tistaert, "Le murmure des livres. Als boeken vertellen... Historiek van de bibliotheek van de balie van Brussel", dans : ''Histoire du barreau de Bruxelles / 1811–2011 / Geschiedenis van de balie van Brussel'', (dir. Bart Coppein and Jérôme De Brouwer), Brussels, Éditions Bruylant, 2012, p. 200.

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dievoet, Augustus Van 1803 births 1865 deaths Jurists from Brussels 19th-century Belgian lawyers State University of Leuven alumni

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

Legal historians Burials at Laeken Cemetery

Biography

Publications

Bibliography

See also

References and notes