Héger, Paul |
| BIOLOGIST (BELGIUM) |
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BORN 13 Dec 1846, Bruxelles - DIED 8 Nov 1925, Bruxelles BIRTH NAME Héger, Paul Marie François Xavier CAUSE OF DEATH knocked down by a car GRAVE LOCATION Watermael-Boitsfort, Brussel: Cimetière de Watermael-Boitsfort, Rue du buis 57 |
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Paul Héger was the son of Constantin Héger and Claire Zoë Héger-Parent. His parents were teachers and two of the Brontë sisters were their pupils in Brussels. He studied at the Université libre de Bruxelles (Free University of Brussels) from 1864 and obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1871. He worked in Leipzig and Vienna to enlarge his knowledge. He married Léonie van Mons in 1875. They had three children. After his return in Brussels, he taught physiology and he started his own laboratory. In 1889 he became the director of the research institute of the Solvay company. There he collaborated with Hendrik Lorentz, who won the Nobel Prize in 1902. In 1904 he founded the "Archives internationales de physiologie". Héger organized the scientific Solvay Conferences together with the Solvay company. At these conferences Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Max Planck, Niels Bohr, Hendrik Lorentz and many others met. Héger was the mentor of the immunologist Jules Bordet, who won the Nobel Prize in 1919. In 1913 he presented four letter to the British Museum that Charlotte Brontë had written to his father. During the First World War he was the Vice-President of the Université libre de Bruxelles and he was its president until 1924. He was a member of the Royal Academy of Medicine and he introduced innovative approaches to medical education including experimental research. He unexpectedly died in 1925 after he was hit by a car on the street. Family • Father: Héger, Constantin • Mother: Héger-Parent, Zoë • Sister: Héger, Louise Related persons • cooperated with Solvay, Ernest • was physician to Solvay, Ernest |
| Images | |
 The Héger family grave at the Cimetière de Watermael-Boitsfort, Brussels. Picture by Androom (27 May 2022) |
 The graves of Paul Héger (above right) and Louise Héger (under right) at the Cimetière de Watermael-Boitsfort, Brussels. Picture by Androom (27 May 2022) |
