Jean François Foppens, sometimes Latinized Johannes Franciscus Foppens (1689–1761), was a Belgian ecclesiastical historian, and literary biographer and bibliographer. He is best known for his ''Bibliotheca belgica, sive virorum in Belgio vita scriptisque illustrium catalogus'' (2 vols., Brussels, 1739), a catalogue of Belgian authors and their works.H. Helbig, "Foppens (Jean-François)", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) 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 ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

''
vol. 7
(Brussels, 1883), 193–195.

Life

Foppens was born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

on 17 November 1689, the son of a family of printers. He was sent to Leuven University in 1704 and graduated Master of Arts in 1706, at the age of 17. Around 1713 he began lecturing on Philosophy at the university while studying Theology. In 1715 he graduated

Licentiate of Theology Licentiate may refer to: *Licentiate (degree), a degree below a PhD granted by universities in some countries; may indicate a medical doctor qualification in the UK and other countries. *Licentiate (Pontifical Degree), second cycle of ecclesiastic ...

and began a clerical career, holding a canonry of the church of St Martin in Aalst, then St. Salvator's Cathedral in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

, and finally

St. Rumbold's Cathedral St. Rumbold's Cathedral (; ) is the Roman Catholic metropolitan archiepiscopal cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium, dedicated to Saint Rumbold, Christian missionary and martyr who founded an abbey nearby. His remains are rumoured to be buried insid ...

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

. He died in Mechelen on 16 July 1761 and was buried in the cathedral.

Works

* ''Historia episcopatus Antverpiensis'' (Brussels, 1717) * ''Historia episcopatus Sylvaeducensis'' (Brussels, 1721) * ''Auberti Miraei opera diplomatica et historica'' (4 vols., Brussels, 1723–1748) * ''Bibliotheca belgica, sive virorum in Belgio vita scriptisque illustrium catalogus'' (2 vols., Brussels, 1739) * ''Basilica Bruxellensis'' (Mechelen, 1743)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foppens, Jean Francois 1689 births 1761 deaths Old University of Leuven alumni 18th-century historians from the Holy Roman Empire 18th-century biographers Roman Catholic priests from the Austrian Netherlands Historians of the Catholic Church Writers from the Austrian Netherlands