François Kupfferschlaeger
Appointed rector in 1864, François Kupfferschlaeger was unable to complete his term. Antoine Spring was recalled for the 1866-1867 year. His rectorship was marked at the end of 1865 by the International Students' Congress, with heated debates on political issues and demands concerning the universities.
François Henri Joseph Kupfferschlaeger (1811-1866), who was born and died in Liège, where he spent his entire education and professional career, devoted himself to the legal profession, before becoming a magistrate. In 1833, he was asked to take over the teaching of theInstitutes of Roman Law fromAntoine Ernst, who was caught up in his political commitments. The following year, he was also entrusted with the Encyclopédie du droit course, followed in 1837 by the Histoire du droit romain course.
Admitted to the ordinariate in 1848, Kupfferschlaeger became the 31st rector of the University of Liège in 1864. A year later, the University hosted the first International Students' Congress. Kupfferschlaeger was deeply shaken by the debates and the turn of events, and only survived the famous event by a few months.
Messieurs les étudiants, […] Mettez bien à profit l’enseignement auquel le corps professoral se voue avec un zèle et une ardeur que rien ne ralentit et qui tirent leur puissance du sentiment du devoir, de la conscience qu’a le professeur qu’ici il est le représentant de vos parents et le ministre de leur sollicitude pour vous. Cependant, que le soin de développer vos facultés intellectuelles ne vous fasse point négliger le culte des qualités du cœur, car elles importent plus que celles de l’esprit. Celles-ci peuvent faire le savant, mais les autres font l’homme. Ce n‘est que par elles que nous pouvons être bon fils, bon époux, bon père et bon citoyen.
"There had never yet been an International Students' Congress when, in 1865, a few students from Liège decided to invite their fellow students from all the universities of Europe to a general assembly. The project was extraordinary. Its realization was astonishing. Fourteen hundred students gathered in Liège, from October 29 to November 1 , 1865, to discuss teaching and politics, the politics of teaching, and even the teaching of politics. The debates were lively, tumultuous and often disorderly. The young speakers competed in audacity, sometimes happy to scandalize their masters and public opinion. [...] The Congress of Liège was a major academic and international event [...] It had a huge audience and was an unprecedented success in terms of scandal. It reflected the growing awareness of young intellectuals confronted with the serious political and ideological problems of 1865. It is also, without question, the most spectacular event in the history of the University of Liège"
Léon-E. Halkin, "Le Premier Congrès International des Étudiants", in Marcel Florkin and Léon-E. Halkin, Chronique de l'Université de Liège, Liège, 1967, pp. 296-317
Illustration : Lambert Salme, Monsieur François Kupfferschlaeger, Professeur à l'Université de Liège, lithographie, s.d., Musée Wittert ULiègeinv. 2919.
