Jean-Joseph Thonissen (b. Hasselt, Limburg, 21 Jan., 1817; d. Leuven, 17 Aug., 1891) was a professor of law at the Catholic University of Leuven and a minister in the Belgian Government.
Jean-Joseph Thonissen (b. Hasselt, Limburg, 21 Jan., 1817; d. Leuven, 17 Aug., 1891) was a professor of law at the Catholic University of Leuven and a minister in the Belgian Government.
Thonissen first performed duties in the magistracy and the administration of Limburg, but was occupied with juridical works on penal law. When dismissed by the Liberal (anti-clerical) ministry, the University of Leuven appointed him in 1848 to the chair of criminal law. In 1863 he was elected to Parliament.
Although he achieved his fame in his chosen field of penal law, his writings covered varied points of history and social science, as was evidenced by the fact that in 1886 the national jury of social sciences awarded him the prize. In penal matters he began with commentaries on the penal code and devoted himself especially to the reform of the penal procedure which he advocated while he was minister. He had conceived the vast plan of a history of criminal law, but realized only a part of it. The first part, which met with considerable success, dealt with Brahminical India, Egypt, and Judea, and contained a "Penal Code of the Pentateuch". He published a work on the penal law of the Athenian Republic. Considering the Roman period as sufficiently well-known, he took up the Frankish period, which he was unable to finish. He aroused controversy by advocating the abolition of the death penalty, which his influence helped bring about in Belgium. While not rejecting it as absolutely unlawful, Thonissen considered it useless in the social condition of the time.
He showed a marked preference for national political history, his principal work on the subject being the History of the Reign of Leopold I. He also published biographies of prominent Belgians such as Félix de Mérode. He had been impressed by the Revolution of 1848 which determined his career and he devoted himself to a laborious study of innovating systems, especially of the Utopian Socialists - Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, Robert Owen, Louis Blanc, and others, being led eventually to write a history of Socialism from ancient times to 1852. These works and many others secured his admission to the Royal Academy of Belgium and the Institut de France; he was commissioned by the former institution to write the volume devoted to its centenary (1872).
Thonissen's political career began in 1863 and was never interrupted by his constituents. In the Chamber he functioned as a jurisconsult and drafted many of the parliamentary reports. He occupied a unique position owing to his independence which made him disagree with the Right on certain points, for instance, on military matters. He was deeply attached to the Constitution of Belgium of 1831, which contained articles proclaiming liberty of worship, of the press, etc. Although a devoted Catholic he was a Liberal, and regarded liberties as a natural right, and defended this opinion in his commentary on the Constitution (1844). After the Pope's decisions on these matters, he changed his ideas, but always had a leaning towards solutions favouring broad tolerance.
In 1872, during a period of turmoil, the King entrusted him with the formation of a ministry, he was not supported by his party, which dreaded concessions to the Left or to the Crown. When he finally entered the ministry (1884), age had rendered him unfit for hard work, though he was able to enforce the new school law which the victorious Right had substituted for the lay regime of 1879; this task consumed the last of his strength and left him unable to resume his scientific pursuits in his retirement (1887); his faculties soon became clouded.
The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.
Godefroid Kurth (1847–1916) was a 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 Les Origines de la civilisation moderne, and his defence of the medieval guild system.
Pierre (Pieter) Jacques François de Decker was a Belgian Roman Catholic politician, statesman and author.
Jean Louis Joseph Lebeau was a Belgian liberal statesman, the prime minister of Belgium on two occasions.
Charles Lenormant was a French archaeologist.
Engelbert Sterckx was the Archbishop of Mechelen, Belgium, from 1832 to 1867.
Philippe Félix Balthasar Otto Ghislain, Count de Merode, known as Félix de Merode, was a Belgian politician. He has been called "the architect of Belgian independence'.
State reform, in the context of Belgium, is the ongoing process of seeking and finding constitutional and legal solutions to the problems and tensions in the different segments of the Belgian population, mostly between the Dutch-speakers of Flanders and the French-speakers of Wallonia. In general, Belgium has evolved from a unitary state to a federal state with communities, regions, and language areas.
Edmond Henri Joseph Reusens was a Belgian archeologist and historian.
Xavier de Mérode was a Belgian prelate, archbishop and statesman of the Papal states.
Alexis Michel Eenens was a Belgian lieutenant-general, military historian, and politician.
Viscount Charles Ghislain Guillaume Vilain XIIII was a Belgian politician, serving as governor of East Flanders, Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Chamber of Representatives of Belgium.
In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the "long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Austrian rule and periods of French and Dutch rule over the region, leading to the creation of the first independent Belgian state in 1830.
Alfred Cauchie was a professor of history at the Catholic University of Leuven.
Events in the year 1857 in Belgium.
Events in the year 1859 in Belgium.
Events in the year 1856 in Belgium.
Events in the year 1850 in Belgium.
Martin-Hubert Rutten (1841–1927), was a bishop of Liège.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Jean-Joseph Thonissen". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. cites: | International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
