Henri-Joseph Rega (1690–1754) was a professor of medicine and rector of
Leuven University
KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...
, in the
Habsburg Netherlands
Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last House of Valois-Burgundy, Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary of Burgu ...
, where he established a
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
, laboratories for chemistry and physics, and an
anatomical theatre
An anatomical theatre (Latin: ) was a specialised building or room, resembling a theatre, used in teaching anatomy at early modern universities. They were typically constructed with a tiered structure surrounding a central table, allowing a lar ...
, as well as adding a new wing to the
University Hall (originally Leuven's medieval
cloth hall
A cloth hall or linen hall (german: Gewandhaus; pl, Sukiennice; french: Halle aux draps; nl, Lakenhal) is a historic building located in the centre of the main marketplace of a European town. Cloth halls were built from medieval times into the 18 ...
).
Life
Rega was born in
Leuven
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
on 26 April 1690. His parents ran a bleachworks on a branch of the
Dijle
The Dyle (french: Dyle ; nl, Dijle ) is a river in central Belgium, left tributary of the Rupel. It is long. It flows through the Belgian provinces of Walloon Brabant, Flemish Brabant and Antwerp. Its source is in Houtain-le-Val, near Nivelles ...
on the edge of the town.
[ E. Van den Corput, "Rega (Henri-Joseph)", '']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. 18
(Brussels, 1905), 842-852. He matriculated at the University of Leuven in 1707, aged 17, and graduated
Licentiate of Medicine in 1712. The university sent him to Paris for further studies, and on his return in 1716 he was appointed professor of Chemistry. He graduated
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...
on 22 February 1718, and in the same year began to teach Anatomy instead of Chemistry. In 1719 he was appointed Professor of Medicine and also began his first of several terms as rector of the university. One of his first priorities as rector was to commission a new wing on the University Hall, which was then used for medical lectures and demonstrations. The first stone was laid on 22 April 1723, and the new wing was first taken into use on 14 March 1725.
![Leuven Toegangspoort tot de voormalige botanische tuin 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Leuven_Toegangspoort_tot_de_voormalige_botanische_tuin_01.jpg)
In 1738, he established
Leuven's botanical garden, and in 1744 the university's anatomical theatre.
Rega treated numerous wealthy patients in private practice, including
Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria, Governess-General of the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...
, who became a generous patron to him and gave him a gem-encrusted medal bearing her likeness.
[ In 1740 he undertook a study of the healthful properties of ]mineral water
Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases.
Tra ...
from the estate of her summer residence in Mariemont (the site of the current Musée royal de Mariemont
The Royal Museum of Mariemont (french: Musée royal de Mariemont) is a museum situated in Mariemont, near Morlanwelz, in Belgium. It is constituted around the personal collection of art and antiquities owned by the industrialist Raoul Warocqué (1 ...
). His wealth enabled him to purchase a country estate of his own, and a fine town house in Leuven. The former is now the site of a 19th-century country house, Regahof, and the latter (at Parijsstraat 74 in Leuven) is a listed building known as "Hotel Rega".
In 1745, in Brussels, Rega treated Maurice de Saxe
Maurice, Count of Saxony (german: Hermann Moritz von Sachsen, french: Maurice de Saxe; 28 October 1696 – 20 November 1750) was a notable soldier, officer and a famed military commander of the 18th century. The illegitimate son of Augustus I ...
, the leader of an invading French army during the War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...
. The following year, after the civic militia of Leuven had fired upon French troops who had tried to force access to the town, Maurice threatened Leuven with bombardment. Rega rode through enemy lines in his coach to successfully appeal to him not to carry out the threat.[
Since 1733, criminals executed in Brussels had been taken to the dissection chamber of the college of surgeons in ]Brussels Town Hall
The Town Hall (french: Hôtel de Ville, Dutch: ) of the City of Brussels is a landmark building and the seat of the City of Brussels municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is located on the south side of the famous Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brus ...
. In 1752, the then-governor, Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine
Prince Charles Alexander Emanuel of Lorraine (french: Charles Alexandre Emanuel, Prince de Lorraine; german: Karl Alexander von Lothringen und Bar; 12 December 1712 in Lunéville – 4 July 1780 in Tervuren) was a Lorraine-born Austrian general a ...
, decreed that the bodies of executed criminals be transferred to the Faculty of Medicine in Leuven for dissection in Rega's anatomical theatre.
Rega died in Leuven on 22 July 1754.[ He had been a book collector, and after his death his immense library was auctioned off over a period of three weeks.][ He bequeathed the gem-encrusted medal that Archduchess Maria Elisabeth had given him to ]St. Peter's Church, Leuven
Saint Peter's Church ( nl, Sint-Pieterskerk) in Leuven, Belgium, is a Roman Catholic church built in the 15th century in the Brabantine Gothic style. The church has a cruciform floor plan and a low bell tower that has never been completed. It ...
, his parish church.[
]
Writings
*
*
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rega, Henri-Joseph
1690 births
1754 deaths
Physicians from Leuven
Old University of Leuven alumni
Academic staff of the Old University of Leuven
Belgian medical researchers
Scientists of the Austrian Netherlands
Physicians of the Austrian Netherlands