Joseph Van Crombrugghe

Joseph Van Crombrugghe ( born September 22, 1770 in Ghent, † March 10, 1842 ) was a lawyer and Liberal politician in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and later in Belgium.

He studied until 1792 Law at the University of Louvain and graduated with a doctorate. He then went to Paris for further studies and was on his return to his hometown of Ghent practiced as a lawyer.

Politically, he was active in the years 1816/1817 as Member of Parliament ( Provinciale Staten ) of the Dutch province of East Flanders at this time, from 1817 to 1824 he was a member of the Second Chamber of the States General, the lower house of the Dutch parliament ( the States General ). In the years 1825 to 1836 and from 1840 to 1842, he served as mayor of the city of Ghent. In addition, he was from 1836 to 1842 again member of the Provincial Parliament ( Conseil provincial ) East-Flanders, which belonged to the newly formed state of Belgium since the secession of the Southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1830.

According to him, the Van Crombrugghe Genootschap was named, a company established in October 1857 by teachers and students of urban schools in Ghent Flemish Cultural Association.