Rome, Adolphe (1889 -1971)
In full: Adolphe Frans Maria Jozef Rome.
Canon (priest), professor and historian of science. Born on 12 July 1889 in Stavelot and died on 9 April 1971 in Korbeek-Lo.
Biography
Rome was trained as a priest at the major seminary in Mechelen. On 14 April 1912, he was ordained and then sent by the seminary government to the University of Leuven to complete his education. Although Rome had a personal predilection for mathematics, they enrolled him in classical philology courses. Rome eventually managed to combine both his interests: in 1919 he defended his thesis on ancient mathematics (Les fonctions trigonométriques dans Héron d'Alexandrie). He then received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and Classical Philology. After this he started working as a teacher, first for a year at the Institut Sainte Marie in Schaarbeek and then at the Saint-Gertrudis College in Nivelles (Nijvel). With a state travel grant he went in 1922 to the Institut Historique Belge in Rome, where he continued his historiographical research. In 1927, he returned to Belgium to fill the vacant chair in Greek literature. Joseph Mogenet was one of his students. In 1935 Rome became an honorary canon. He was finally admitted to emeritus status in 1959. He spent his last years as a resident priest in Leuven and later in the Emmaüs home for the elderly in Korbeek-Lo. By that time he was almost completely paralysed and blind in one eye.
The history of ancient science, especially the history of mathematics and of Greek astronomy, was Rome's lifelong passion. He studied, among others, the works of Archimedes, Hero and especially Pappus of Alexandria. Among his better-known writings was Commentaires de Pappus et de Théon d'Alexandrie sur l'Almageste, texte établi et annoté par A. Rome, (1931-1934).
In 1932 Rome was, together with Franz Cumont and Joseph Bidez, among others, one of the founders of the magazine L'Antiquité Classique. After the Second World War Rome, together with Joseph Mogenet, also took over the editing of the science magazine Osiris from Sarton.
They were assisted by their colleagues Albert Lejeune, Georges Lemaître, Armand Louis, Charles Manneback, Maurice Michaux, Gaston Polspoel and Franz Sondervorst.
Rome was also chairman of the Belgian Committee for the History of Sciences and a member of the Comité international d'histoire des sciences. Rome was also a member of the Société scientifique de Bruxelles and the Société Belge d'Astronomie
From 1948 he was a corresponding member and from 1950 a member of the Académie royale des sciences. He was a Grand Officer in the Order of the Crown and an Officer in the Order of Leopold.
Publications
A complete list with the publications of Adolphe Rome can be found in Bibliographie Académique, 6 (1914-1934), 132-134; 7 (1934-1954), 233-234; 8 (1954-1955), 99 en 10 (1957-1963), 369-370.
Bibliography
- Vanpaemel, Geert,"Bijlage Wetenschapsgeschiedenis in België", in: Robert Halleux, Carmélia Opsomer en Jan Vandersmissen, Geschiedenis van de wetenschappen in België van de Oudheid tot 1815, Brussel 1998, 428.
- De Ruyt, Franz, "In memoriam Adolphe Rome (1889-1971)", in: L'Antiquité Classique, 40, 1971, l-4.
- De Ruyt, Franz, "Notice sur le chanoine Adolphe Rome, membre de l´Academie", in: Annuaire de l´Académie royale de Belgique, 138 (1972), 87-99.
