Ferdinand Augustijn Snellaert
Encyclopedia
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
, 21 July 1809-Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, 3 July 1872) was a Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
writer. He studied medicine at the University of Utrecht (1827-1829) and became officer of health in the Dutch army (1830-1835). After his dismissal, he graduated in medicine at the University of Ghent (1836-1837), and became a general practitioner in Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. Ferdinand Augustijn Snellaert became active in the Flemish movement
Flemish movement
The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over-all protection of Flemish culture and history....
. He founded the Maetschappy van Vlaemsche Letteroefening De Tael is gantsch het Volk, and he participated in several Flemish actions, such as the Vlaams petitionnement (1840), the Kunst- en Letterblad (1840), the Dutch Linguistic and Literary Conferences(vanaf 1849), the Rapport van de Grievencommissie (1856-1859) en the Vlaemsch Verbond (1861).
In 1847, he succeeded his friend Jan Frans Willems
Jan Frans Willems
Jan Frans Willems , Flemish writer and father of the Flemish movement.Willems was born in the Belgian city of Boechout, while that was under French occupation. He started his career in the office of a notary in Antwerp....
as member of the Royal Belgian Academy
The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium
There are two Royal Academies for Science and the Arts in Belgium, corresponding to the two main languages of the country, Dutch and French . The Academies are located in the Palace of Academies in Brussels....
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, where he represented the Flemish cause, and he was one of the co-founders of the Willemsfonds
Willemsfonds
The Willemsfonds, named after Jan Frans Willems, is a non-profit cultural organization founded in the 19th century to promote Flemish culture and language in Belgium. In order to achieve this goal, the organization encouraged Flemish folk song, organized linguistic games and published inexpensive...
. In 1849, at the first Dutch Linguistic and Literary Conference, he held the opening speech, where he argued every possible means should be used to strengthen the spirit of the people, and that we should fight those who worked against the development of the spirit of the people. Language was believed to be an important tool to influence the character of the people.