Bidez, Joseph (1867-1945)
Full name: Joseph Marie Auguste Bidez.
Professor of classical philology and historian of science, born 9 April 1867 in Frameries and died 20 September 1945 in Oostakker.
Contents
Biography
Bidez graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy and Letters from the University of Liège in 1888. In 1891, he added a degree of Doctor of Law and in 1894, after a study tour in Berlin, Bidez defended a thesis at the University of Ghent to obtain the degree of special doctor of classical philology. The following year, the University of Ghent appointed him to teach a whole range of courses on classical philology. This was followed by his appointment as extraordinary professor in 1902 and ordinary professor in 1904. There, Bidez taught Georges Sarton, among others, who saw in him his teacher. [1]
During World War I, Bidez opposed the creation of the Flemish High School(Vlaamsche Hoogeschool) and the replacement of Ghent's city council with an activist administration. Together with Louis Fredericq, the nephew of the now imprisoned Paul Fredericq, he founded the Action Patriotique. The aim of this clandestine organisation was to socially isolate the activists and provide a counterweight to their anti-national propaganda. The Action Patriotique's arrows were also aimed at the Flemish High School(Vlaamsche Hoogeschool). To combat the Germanising influence of this institution, the Action set up speaking engagements for girls and boys and supported the operation of a clandestine normal school where many of the suspended university professors taught. In 1933, Bidez was removed from his chair as a result of language reforms. He was admitted to emeritus status four years later.
Bidez's scientific interest was in ancient scholars and Greek philosophers from the period of Christianity. In 1895, he made a long study trip to Greece. His research on the spot provided material for a large number of publications, such as The ecclesiastical history of Euagrius (1898), Recherches sur la tradition manuscrite des lettres de l'empereur Julien (1898), in collaboration with Franz Cumont, La tradition manuscrite de Sozomène et la Tripartite de Théodore le Lecteur (1908), Philostorgius, Kirchengeschichte (1913) and Vie de Porphyre, le philosophe néoplatonicien (1913). Furthermore, Bidez was interested in the history of alchemy and the person and works of Emperor Julian. Bidez's publications were awarded several prizes, including by the Academie royale de Belgique (1904 and 1906).
Bidez was the first president of the Belgian Committee for the History of Sciences. He was a correspondent and then also a member of the Académie des sciences from 1913. Since 1930, he was a correspondent member of the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences.
Publications
An overview of Bidez' publications up to 1938 appeared in: "Joseph Bidez Bibliography 1894-1938", in: Osiris 6 (1939), IV-IX.
Bibliography
- “Bidez (Marie-Auguste-Joseph)”, in: Biographie Nationale, 31 (1961), 77-80.
- Vanpaemel, Geert, “Versnippering of diversiteit? De Belgische wetenschapsgeschiedenis na de Tweede Wereldoorlog”, in: Studium, 6 (2013), p. 149-158.
- "Hommages à Joseph Bidez et à Franz Cumont", Brussel, 1949.
- Vanacker, Daniël, Het activistisch avontuur. De geschiedenis van de collaboratie van de Vlamingen met de Duitse bezetter tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog., Leuven, 2006.
