Marie Anne Simonis (17 January 1758 21 November 1831), known as ''"La Grande Madame"'', was a Belgian textile industrialist. She played an important part in the

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

of what is now Belgium. Together with her brother, , she introduced the mechanization of the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

in the territory by adopting the inventions of the British textile industry, such as the

Spinning Jenny The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill ...

Life

Marie Anne Simonis was born in

Verviers Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also the ...

on 17 January 1758. On 11 December 1777 she married the textile industrialist Jean-François Biolley (1755-1822), the head of the Biolley firm. She took control over her spouse's company due to his health condition. Showing hospitality to

French refugees French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

after the outbreak of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, with the French invasion of the

Prince-bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial State, Imperial Estate, so the List of ...

she became a refugee herself in 1795, first moving to Brunswick and later

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. Returning to Verviers when matters had quietened down, she became closely associate with

William Cockerill William Cockerill (1759–1832) was a British inventor, entrepreneur, and industrialist. Designing and producing machines for new industrial textile manufacturing, he is best known for having established a major manufacturing firm in what is now ...

, who produced machines for her husband's factory. Out of concern for the condition of her workers, she founded schools and hospitals for the poor. She died at Hodbomont Castle, in the municipality of

Theux Theux (; wa, Teu) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 11,571 inhabitants. The total area is 83.36 km², giving a population density of 139 inhabitants per km². ...

, on 21 November 1831.G. Dewalque, "Biolley, Marie-Anne", ''

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. 2 (Brussels, 1868), 433-436.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonis, Marie Anne 1758 births 1831 deaths People of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège Businesspeople of the Austrian Netherlands 19th-century businesswomen People of the Industrial Revolution People from Verviers Women of the Austrian Netherlands