Henri Omont

Born15 September 1857
Évreux, Normandy, France
Died9 December 1940 (aged 83)
Paris, France
Occupationlibrarian, philologist, historian
Signature

Henri Auguste Omont (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ʁi oɡyst ɔmɔ̃]; 15 September 1857 – 9 December 1940) was a French librarian, philologist, and historian.[1]

Life

In 1881 he wrote a thesis De la ponctuation and graduated from the École Nationale des Chartes. As a librarian at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, he participated in compiling the "general catalogue of the manuscripts of the public libraries of France" (Alençon, Avranches, Louviers). At the same time, he undertook research on ancient libraries and the history of printing and books. Omont became a member of the Société des Antiquaires de France and of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1900.[1] Between 1900 and 1921, Omont was president of the Société libre d'agriculture, sciences, arts et belles-lettres de l'Eure.

He received the honorary degree Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) from the University of Oxford in October 1902, in connection with the tercentenary of the Bodleian Library.[2]

After his death, his private library stayed with his widow until it was bought in 1948 by the Catholic University of Leuven, to help reconstruct its collections after they were destroyed by the Germans for the second time. In 1970, Omont's library was divided when the university separated into a Dutch-speaking university that remained in Leuven,[3] and a French-speaking one that moved to a new university town called Louvain-la-Neuve.[1]

Selected works

References

  1. ^ a b c "OMONT Henri Auguste". cths.fr. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  2. ^ "University intelligence". The Times. No. 36893. London. 8 October 1902. p. 4.
  3. ^ "Henri Omont Collection". KU Leuven Libraries.

Bibliography

  • Bibliographie des travaux de M. Henri Omont. Paris: H. Didier ; Toulouse: Ed. Privat, 1933, XI-270 p.  1108 entries. "Pour le cinquantième anniversaire de l'entrée à la Bibliothèque nationale de m. Henri Omont, la bibliographie de ses travaux a été dressée par les conservateurs-adjoints et les bibliothécaires du Département des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque nationale." Edited by P. Lauer and E. A. van Moé.
  • Chris Coppens a.o.(eds), Sapientia aedicavit sibi domum: Leuven University Library 1425–2000, Leuven 2005, p. 351

Sources