Lambert-Materne Lombard
Lambert-Materne Lombard became Rector for the 1839-1840 academic year. The following year, the Académie was founded and Lombard was elected a full member.
Lambert-Materne Lombard (1793-1855), a physician from Liège, was a brilliant practitioner who was highly regarded by his patients. Trained at the military hospital in Liège, he was appointed second-in-command surgeon, then, in 1811, attached to the hospital in Middelburg (Zeeland). Due to his obvious aptitude, he was sent to continue his training at the Val-de-Grâce (Paris). He took part in Napoleon's campaigns as a surgeon, before being put in charge of the Nancy hospitals, then the medical department at Boisserville. He took part in the Hundred Days and witnessed the Battle of Waterloo, after which he abandoned his military career.
He obtained his doctorate in medicine in Paris in 1816, with a dissertation on the benefits of breastfeeding. Returning to Liège, where he built up a vast clientele, he was appointed a member of the Province's Medical Commission, which he chaired from 1831 to 1853. Appointed Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Liège (1835), he demonstrated his skills as a teacher.
Rector in 1839-1840, Lombard was also involved in politics, as a member of the Regency Council (1831 to 1834), then as provincial councillor (1838-1848). A great art lover, his prestigious collection of paintings was unfortunately dispersed on his death in 1855.
