André Dumont
The fact that Liège is a mining country has contributed to the development of geology. André Dumont, whose memory is commemorated by a statue in the Place du 20-Août, is without doubt an eminent figure among the geologists of his time. Rector from 1855, he died before the end of his term, in 1857, at the age of 48. During his term of office, the House voted to abolish the entrance examination, which led to a significant increase in the student population.
Born in Liège in 1809, André Dumont showed an early interest in the study of rocks - he was the son of a mining geometer - and self-taught to acquire a knowledge that was soon recognized by specialists. In 1830, he won a competition organized by the Académie de Belgique - with a brilliant geological description of the Province of Liège that impressed the geologist Jean-Baptiste d'Omalius - a prize that foreshadowed the even more prestigious Wollaston Medal awarded to him by the Geological Society of London in 1840.
Meanwhile, Dumont earned a doctorate in physical sciences and mathematics at the University of Liège (1835), where he was immediately hired as an extraordinary professor of geology and mineralogy. He was promoted to the ordinariate in 1841. From then on, he divided his time between course preparation and field studies: the government commissioned him to draw up a geological map of the Belgian territory, for use by scientists and industrialists alike.
A member of the Académie since 1836, and of prestigious Belgian and foreign learned societies, he published extensively on his numerous discoveries (e.g. Tableaux analytiques des minéraux et des roches). In 1855, the handwritten map of Europe he presented at the Paris Universal Exhibition earned him the Exhibition's Medal of Honor, awarded by Napoleon III.
Rector of the University of Liège from 1855 until his death on February 28, 1857, he gave a speech on "The origin of the physical world and the theory of its formation" at the opening of classes in 1856, which some considered pantheistic and which was never published.
Read his speech at the reopening of classes in 1856 (PDF facsimile)
It is said of him
About his 1856 commencement address: "After explaining the notions of space, time, matter, force and infinity, and the relationship between mind and matter... Mr. Dumont gave some of the most elevated considerations on the existence of a universal fluid (ether) distinct from the weightable matter that forms the globes spread across space. He outlined current theories on the role of the ether in the phenomena of light, heat and electricity, as well as on the molecular constitution of bodies, the action of attractive forces, the origin of gravitation and the formation of our solar system.. He also tackled all the major problems of physics, and despite the difficulties of the subject, he was able to constantly captivate the attention and interest of his audience"(Journal de Liége, October 17, 1856).
The law of May 1 , 1857, the third revision of the law on examination boards, drove the issue home by confirming the abolition of the university entrance examination, but making possession of a certificate in Greco-Latin humanities a condition for university enrolment. And from 1861, an entrance examination was added to this condition. The rules seemed doomed to constant change.
Ph.Raxhon, Mémoire et prospectives. Université de Liège (1817-2017), Presses universitaires de Liège, 2017, p. 56.
Go to : Jean-Théodore Lacordaire
Illustration : Joseph Schubert, André Dumont, Professeur ordinaire à l'Université de Liège, lithographie, 1854, Musée Wittert ULiège, inv. 2899
