Jules Vannérus

Jules Vannérus (1874-1970) was a prominent Belgian archivist, historian, and scholar of Luxembourgish origin. Born on January 2, 1874, in Diekirch, Luxembourg, Vannérus moved to Brussels at the age of three and completed his education there, including three years of medical studies at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. However, his true passion lay in historical research, leading him to obtain a diploma in archival studies in 1896. Vannérus had a distinguished career in archives and historical research. He worked as an archivist at the State Archives in Mons and later became curator at the State Archives in Antwerp. In 1920, he was appointed Curator of the War Archives Commission, where he played a crucial role in preserving records from World War I. Vannérus briefly served as the first director of the Academia Belgica in Rome in 1939 before returning to Belgium due to World War II. Throughout his long life, he published prolifically, with nearly 500 works to his name, focusing primarily on the history of Luxembourg and various aspects of historical research, including numismatics, toponymy, and genealogy.