Thomas Braun (1876–1961) was a Belgian lawyer and French-language poet. He also published under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s Bonissart, Brunissart, and Ranhissart.

Life

Braun was born in Brussels on 8 September 1876, the son of Senator Alexandre Braun and Fanny Marcq. He was educated at the Institut Saint-Louis in Brussels, spending his vacations in the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

at Bagimont (now a subdivision of

Vresse-sur-Semois Vresse-sur-Semois (, literally ''Vresse on Semois''; wa, Vresse) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Alle, Bagimont, Bohan, Chairière, Laforêt, M ...

). He took the candidature in law at the Faculté Saint-Louis in Brussels, spent some time in Bonn, and completed his studies at the Catholic University of Louvain.Raymond Pouilliart, "Braun (Thomas)", '' Biographie Nationale de Belgique''
vol. 40
(Brussels, 1977), 90-95. Even before graduating, he was publishing verse and prose under a variety of pen names in a wide range of periodicals, including ''L'Avenir du Luxembourg'', ''L'Avenir social'', ''La Justice sociale'', ''Le Luxembourg'', ''La Belgique'', the '' Journal de Bruxelles'', ''L'Etudiant'', ''La Famille'', ''La Petite revue belge'', ''Chasse et pêche'', and ''La Revue vélocipédique belge''. In 1895, he went to Paris to meet Joris-Karl Huysmans. He was a founding member of ''L'Escholier'' and the Société Générale Bruxelloise des Etudiants Catholiques ("Gé"), and a regular contributor to new reviews such as '' Le Drapeau'', ''

Durendal Durendal, also spelled Durandal, is the sword of Roland, a legendary paladin and partially historical officer of Charlemagne in French epic literature. It is also said to have belonged to young Charlemagne at one point, and, passing through Sarac ...

'', and '' Le Spectateur catholique''. From 1898 onwards, he was very active in the legal profession. He co-authored two legal works, one on

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

s and one on

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

s. In 1900, he married Marguerite Van Mons. They lived in Brussels, with a summer home in the Ardennes at Maissin (now a subdivision of

Paliseul Paliseul (; wa, Palijhoû) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 112.96 km², had 5,055 inhabitants, giving a population density of 44.8 inhabitants p ...

). During the First World War he was an active defence lawyer for Belgians brought before the tribunals established by the forces of occupation. After his first wife's death in 1919, he married Hélène Moeller (

Henry Moeller Henry Moeller (1852–1918) was a Belgian priest and literary critic, who for twenty years edited the cultural review ''Durendal''. Life Moeller was born in Leuven on 12 July 1852, the sixth son of Professor Jean Moeller and Marie-Sabine Durst.Ray ...

's niece and editorial assistant at ''Durendal''). He was elected to the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique in 1939, but was installed only in 1946. He was among the founders of the Académie Luxembourgeoise. He died in Ixelles (Brussels) on 11 September 1961.

Writings

;Poetry * ''L'An'' (1897) * ''Le Livre des bénédictions'' (1900) * ''Philatélie'' (1910) * ''Fumée d'Ardenne'' (1912) * ''Les Bénédictions'' (1941) * ''Le Zodiaque'' (1949) ;Law * with Albert Capitaine, ''Les marques de fabrique et de commerce'' (Brussels, 1908) * with Paul Struye, ''Précis des brevets d'invention et de la contrefaçon matérielle'' (Brussels, 1935).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Thomas 1876 births 1961 deaths Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni 20th-century Belgian lawyers 20th-century Belgian poets Members of the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique