Henri-Maurice Gaëde
Henri-Maurice Gaëde from Holstein, a specialist in natural history and entomology in particular, takes over as head of the University for the 1822-1823 academic year.
Born in Kiel (Schleswig-Holstein) in 1795, Henri-Maurice Gaëde abandoned his theological studies to pursue a predilection for the natural sciences, which he studied in his hometown and later at the University of Berlin. By 1815-1816, he was well known for his publications on insects and jellyfish, making him an internationally distinguished young anatomist.
He was invited by the Dutch government to teach natural history, mineralogy, comparative anatomy, botany and plant physiology in Liège. His religious convictions led him to choose dissertation subjects that were as much moral philosophy as natural science, and in which he revealed himself to be a contemplative yet scientifically rigorous man. The Botanical Garden was immediately placed under his direction, while he became president of the Horticultural Society established in Liège.
His rectoral opening address for the year 1822-1823 was on the distribution of organized beings on the globe. On his death in 1834, Gaëde left the University an important collection of insects and minerals, as well as a valuable herbarium.
Go to : Pierre-Joseph Destriveaux
Illustration: Haagen, after Regnier, Henri Maurice Gaede, burin, s.d., Musée Wittert-ULiège, inv. 5365.
