Joseph Cuvelier (1869–1947) was a Belgian archivist and historian.

Life

Cuvelier was born in

Bilzen Bilzen () is a city and a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. In 2021, Bilzen had a total population of 32,536. The total area is 75.90 km² which gives a population density of 426 inhabitants per km². Bilzen consist ...

on 6 May 1869 and was educated at state secondary schools there and in

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...

Camille Tihon Camille Tihon (1890–1972) was a Belgian archivist and historian. Life Tihon was born in Remicourt, Belgium, on 25 June 1890. He studied at the University of Liège under Eugène Hubert and Karl Hanquet, graduating with a doctorate for a thesis o ...

, "Cuvelier (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. 31
(Brussels, 1961), 240-244. He studied history at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

under

Godefroid Kurth Godefroid Kurth (1847–1916) was a celebrated Belgian historian and pioneering Christian democrat. He is known for his histories of the city of Liège in the Middle Ages and of Belgium, his Catholic account of the formation of modern Europe in ' ...

, graduating with a doctorate in 1892. At the end of 1894 he was appointed to the

State Archives State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in Liège. On 30 June 1896 he was appointed assistant conservator of the State Archives in Bruges, and in 1900 to the

National Archives of Belgium The National Archives of Belgium (french: Archives générales du Royaume, nl, Algemeen Rijksarchief, both ) is the main depository of the State Archives of Belgium (''Archives de l'État''; ''Rijksarchief'') and is located on /, next to the Mon ...

in Brussels, where he would remain for 35 years. At

Arthur Gaillard Arthur Gaillard (1847–1912) was the head of the State Archives in Belgium from 1904 until his death. His career as an archivist began in 1872 and he worked his way up through all the ranks of the service to become its head. He instituted the pra ...

's death in 1912 he became acting head archivist, and was appointed to the function of head archivist in 1913. In the summer of 1913 he undertook a study trip to the principal archives of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. His report of this trip was later translated into English in 1939. Cuvelier was one of the founders of the ''Revue des Archives et des Bibliothèques de Belgique'' and of the Association des Archivistes et des Bibliothécaires. He translated Muller, Feith and Fruin's ''Manual for the Arrangement and Description of Archives'' into French. He was a corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature from 1923, and a full member of the

Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique, sometimes referred to as ') is the independent learned society of science and arts of the French Comm ...

from 1928. He retired from the state archives on 31 December 1935. In retirement he was active as director of the

Belgian Historical Institute in Rome The Belgian Historical Institute in Rome ( nl, Belgisch Historisch Instituut te Rome, french: Institut historique belge de Rome, it, Istituto storico belga di Roma), founded 1902, is a scholarly research institute focused on the study of Roman, and ...

and on the editorial committee of the ''

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 ' ...

'', to which he had long been a contributor. He died in

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert Woluwe-Saint-Lambert () or Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe (Dutch, ) is one of the nineteen municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It is a prosperous residential area, with a mixture of flats and detached, semi-detached and terraced hous ...

on 29 December 1947.

Publications

* ''Inventaire des archives de l'abbaye du Val-Benoît à Liège'' (1901) * ''Inventaire des Inventaires de la deuxième section des Archives Générales du Royaume: Chambres des comptes, Chartes de Brabant, Flandres, Namur et Luxembourg, Corps de métiers, Papiers d'État et de l'Audience, Cartulaires et Manuscrits, etc.'' (1904) * ''Les dénombrements de foyers en Brabant, XIVe-XVIe siècle'' (1912) * ''Inventaire des Archives de la Ville de Louvain'' (4 vols., 1929-1938) Legacy: A

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

of the Belgian State Archives was named for Cuvelier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuvelier, Joseph 1869 births 1947 deaths People from Bilzen University of Liège alumni 20th-century Belgian historians Belgian archivists 19th-century Belgian historians