1865 in Belgium explained

Events in the year 1865 in Belgium.

Incumbents

Monarch

Leopold I (until 10 December); Leopold II (from in 17 December)

Head of government

Charles Rogier

Events

March

• 16 March – Belgian state guarantees private savings.^[1]

April

• 4 April – Opposition parties accuse government of breaching Belgian neutrality by involving the country in the Second French intervention in Mexico.

May

• 1 May – Henricus Franciscus Bracq consecrated as bishop of Ghent
• 22 May — Commercial treaty with the German Customs Union signed in Berlin.^[2]
• 26 May – 1863–75 cholera pandemic caused 45,000 fatalities in Belgium in 1865.

July

• 16 July – Belgian Legion wins Battle of la Loma in Mexico.

August

• 21 August — Law on tariffs and customs reform published.

September

• 23 September – Brussels city council approves plans for the covering of the Senne.

October

• 2 October – Sint-Lievenscollege founded in Ghent

November

• 2 November – Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation between China and Belgium, negotiated by Auguste t'Kint, signed in Beijing.^[3]
• 14 November – Jules Bara succeeds Victor Tesch as Minister of Justice.

December

• 10 December – Death of King Leopold I of Belgium.
• 16 December – Leopold I of Belgium buried in Laken, despite his wish to be buried in Windsor; Auguste t'Kint arrives in Yokohama as the first Belgian diplomat in Japan.^[3]
• 17 December – Leopold II of Belgium sworn in as King.
• 23 December — Convention between France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland forming the Latin Monetary Union signed in Paris.

Publications

Periodicals

• Almanach royal officiel (Brussels, H. Tarlier and Rozez)^[4]
• Analectes pour servir à l'histoire ecclésiastique de la Belgique, vol. 2, edited by P. F. X. de Ram.^[5]
• Annales de la Société d'émulation pour l'étude de l'histoire et des antiquités de la Flandre, 2nd series, vol. 13 (Bruges, Vandecasteele-Werbrouck)^[6]
• Annuaire de l'Université catholique de Louvain, vol. 29 (Leuven, Vanlinthout)^[7]
• Collection de précis historiques, vol. 14, edited by Edouard Terwecoren S.J.^[8]
• La Liberté begins publication (March).
• Revue Générale begins publication (January).
• Rond den Heerd begins publication (December).

Scholarship

• Émile de Borchgrave, Histoire des colonies belges, qui s'établirent en Allemagne pendant le XIIe et le XIIIe siècle (Brussels)
• Joseph Jean De Smet (ed.), Recueil des chroniques de Flandre, vol. 4 (Brussels, Commission royale d'Histoire)^[9]
• Joseph Jean De Smet, Mémoire historique sur la guerre de Maximilien, roi des Romains, contre les villes de Flandre (1482-1488) (Brussels, Hayez for Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium) – a study of the Flemish revolts against Maximilian of Austria.^[10]
• Paul Henrard, Histoire de l'artillerie en Belgique depuis son origine jusqu'au règne d'Albert et d'Isabelle (Brussels, C. Muquardt)^[11]
• Alphonse O'Kelly de Galway, Dictionnaire des cris d'armes et devises des personnages célèbres et des familles nobles et autres de la Belgique ancienne et moderne (Brussels, A. Schnée)^[12]

Literature

• Hendrik Conscience, De Burgemeester van Luik

Art and architecture

Buildings

• Arlon Synagogue completed.

Paintings

• Henri Leys, Lucie Leys

Science

• Louis Melsens receives Montyon Prize for his work on the use of potassium iodide to treat mercury poisoning and lead poisoning.

Balance of trade

In 1865 imports to Belgium were valued at 1.364 million francs, with exports of 1.204 million francs.^[13]

Births

• Date uncertain – Joseph Middeleer, painter (died 1939)
• 19 January – Égide Rombaux, sculptor (died 1942)
• 27 January – Ferdinand Feyerick, fencer (died 1920)
• 30 January – Marie de Bièvre, painter (died 1909)
• 25 February – Flavie Van den Hende, cellist (died 1925)
• 2 March – Théo Ysaÿe, composer (died 1918)
• 7 March – Jean Massart, botanist (died 1925)
• 2 April – Louise Danse, painter (died 1948)
• 4 April – Clément Van Bogaert, engineer (died 1937)
• 1 May – Frans Mortelmans, painter (died 1936)
• 4 May – Servais Le Roy, entertainer (died 1953)
• 9 May – August de Boeck, composer (died 1937)
• 21 May – Evert Larock, painter (died 1901)
• 6 June – Antoon Jozef Witteryck, publisher (died 1934)
• 15 June – Paul Gilson, composer (died 1942)
• 14 July – Marguerite Verboeckhoven, painter (died 1949)
• 11 December – Édouard Poncelet, archivist (died 1947)

Deaths

• 3 January – Joseph Lies, painter (born 1821)
• 5 January – Pierre Kersten, publisher (born 1789)
• 14 January – Marie-Anne Libert, botanist (born 1782)
• 19 March – Joseph Lebeau, politician (born 1794)
• 26 April – Charles-Joseph Sax musical instrument maker (born 1790)
• 14 May – Pierre François Xavier de Ram, historian (born 1804)
• 18 June – Antoine Wiertz, painter (born 1806)
• 12 July – Constant de Kerchove de Denterghem, politician (born 1790)
• 23 July – Frans Alfons Janssens, priest-scientist (died 1924)

Notes and References

1. Alain de Gueldre et al., Kroniek van België (Antwerp and Zaventem, 1987).
2. Recueil des traités et conventions concernant le royaume de Belgique vol. 6, edited by Désiré de Garcia de la Vega (Brussels, 1866).
3. Dirk De Ruyver, "The First Treaty between Belgium and Japan", in Japan & Belgium: An Itinerary of Mutual Inspiration, edited by W.F. Vande Walle and David De Cooman (Tielt, 2016), pp. 21-111.
4. https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6BCAAAAcAAJ Almanach
5. https://books.google.com/books?id=uJAAAAAAcAAJ Analectes
6. https://archive.org/details/AnnalesSocEmuFlandre17 Annales
7. https://archive.org/details/AnnuaireDeLUniversiteCathLouvain29 Annuaire
8. https://books.google.com/books?id=owpBAAAAcAAJ Collection de précis historiques
9. Recueil des chroniques de Flandre, vol. 4 on Google Books
10. https://books.google.com/books?id=2BE_AAAAcAAJ Mémoire historique
11. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_uD7uNtPcp2gC Histoire de l'artillerie
12. https://archive.org/details/dictionnairedesc00okel Dictionnaire des cris d'armes
13. Minister of Finances, Tableau annuel du commerce avec les pays étrangers pendant l'année 1865 (Brussels, 1866), p. ix. (Available on Google Books)