Ducpétiaux, Antoine-Édouard

(1804-1868)

   Antoine-Édouard Ducpétiaux was born in Brussels on 29 June 1804, the eldest of three sons of the owner of one of the capital's principal lace houses. He earned a doctorate at the University of Ghent in 1827 and was admitted to the bar in Brussels in 1828. He played a leading role in the events of August-September 1830 during the Belgian Revolution. On 27 August, as an officer in the civic guard, Ducpétiaux pulled down the French tricolor raised by rioting demonstrators at the Hôtel de Ville and replaced it with the black, yellow, and red banner of Brabant. A radical who demanded an immediate break with the Netherlands and formation of a provisional government, he served as president of the Central Assembly (Réunion centrale). In September, he undertook efforts to negotiate with Crown Prince Frederick, but he was imprisoned in Antwerp by the Dutch until released on 11 October. Afterward, he clashed with members of the Central Assembly and resigned as president. In 1830, the provisional government appointed him inspector-general of prisons. A prolific writer, Ducpétiaux wrote a three-volume study on penitentiary reform. He served as a communal councillor from 1845 to 1848 and drafted projects for slum clearance in 1844 and 1846. In his later years, he organized Catholic charity work. He died in Brussels on 21 July 1868.