Raoul Warocqué (

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 ...

, 4 February 1870 –

, 28 May 1917), was a Belgian industrialist from

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

Biography

Raoul was the great-grandson of Nicolas Warocqué, the founder of the prominent Warocqué family. His father was

Arthur Warocqué Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, (1835–80), a promoter of Belgian horticulture, after whom the

arum ''Arum'' is a genus of plants in the Araceae family; they are native to Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. Frequently called arum lilies, they are not closely ...

Anthurium warocqueanum ''Anthurium warocqueanum'', commonly known as the Queen Anthurium, is a species of plant in the genus ''Anthurium''. Native to Colombia, it is grown in more temperate climates as a greenhouse specimen or houseplant for its ornamental foliage. D ...

'' was named. Warocqué was a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and a believer in

paternalism Paternalism is action that limits a person's or group's liberty or autonomy against their will and is intended to promote their own good. It has been defended in a variety of contexts as a means of protecting individuals from significant harm, s ...

. He was a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

of the

Grand Orient of Belgium The Grand Orient of Belgium (, ; or G.O.B.) is a Belgian cupola of masonic lodges which is only accessible for men, and works in the basic three symbolic degrees of freemasonry. History The Grand Orient of Belgium was founded in 1833, three y ...

, Belgian

patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

and a

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

. At the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), he participated in the ''Jeune Garde libérale'' (Young Liberal Guard). Raoul Warocqué made the coal mines of Mariemont successful, and at 21 years of age had established a considerable fortune. A careful investment policy made him the richest man in Belgium at the beginning of the 20th century. His industrial ventures were numerous, such as in the coal mines of

Campine The Campine () or Kempen () is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encompasses a large n ...

as well as in other industrial sectors including

Clabecq Clabecq (; ; ) is a district of the Belgian municipality of Tubize, Wallonia, located in the province of Walloon Brabant. It was formerly its own municipality until the period of fusion of Belgian municipalities in 1977. It is traversed by the ...

, Gas and Electricity of Hainaut, railroads and coal mines in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, tobacco in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, and others. As a politician he was mayor of

Morlanwelz Morlanwelz (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Morlanwelz had a total population of 18,595. The total area is 20.26 km2 which gives a population density of 918 inhabitants per km2 ...

and liberal deputy of

Thuin Thuin ( or ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Biercée, Biesme-sous-Thuin, Donstiennes, Gozée, Leers-et-Fosteau, Ragnies, Thuilli ...

. In Mariemont and in Hainaut, he founded liberal organizations. He supported bills favorable to the

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

, while at the same time he was opposed to the right to strike. His most noted interventions relate to the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

, military service, compulsory education and coal mining. As a philanthropist, he created open dormitories in Brussels (1891) which distributed soup and bread to the poor. He supported the ULB, the ''Ecole des Mines'' (School of Mining), and founded the ''Institut commercial'' (Commercial Institute) in

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

as well as the ''Athénée du Centre'' (Central Athenaeum) in

, an orphanage, a childcare facility, a maternity hospital, and some other institutions. He was also one of the financiers of the World Fair of Brussels (

1897 Events January * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedit ...

and 1910) and of

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

(1911). He fell ill and died during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1917. On his death in 1917, his art and antiquities collections were donated to the Belgian state and now form the basis for the

Musée royal de Mariemont The Royal Museum of 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 (1870–1917), which were bequeat ...

References

External links

Warocqué family

Royal Museum of Mariemont
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warocque, Raoul 1870 births 1917 deaths Walloon people Businesspeople from Brussels Belgian philanthropists Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Belgian Freemasons Liberal Party (Belgium) politicians 19th-century philanthropists

Biography

References

Further reading

External links