Herman Victor Hubert
Professor Herman Victor Hubert (1849-1922)
1922 Obituary [1]
Professor HERMAN VICTOR HUBERT, C.B.E., was born on 19th May 1849 at Liege, Belgium, and received his education in the University of that town.
At a comparatively youthful age he was appointed an Inspector of Mines under the Belgian Government, and in this service became successively Chief Director and finally Inspector-General of Mines. During this part of his life he contributed largely to the literature of Mining, notably the work entitled "Code de l'Industrie et des Mines" and wrote extensively on blast-furnace gases, in regard to which he was the first to point out the method of their direct utilization.
In 1903 he was appointed Director of the School of Industries at Liege, and in the following year succeeded M. Dwelshauvers-Dery as Professor of Applied Mechanics, Testing of Materials and Industrial Physics in the University of Liege.
Throughout the enemy occupation of Belgium he remained with his family in England, but went to France in 1917, where, in conjunction with M. Paul Hymans, he founded the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and for his services in connexion with this the King of the Belgians conferred upon him the Cross of Grand Officier de l'Ordre de la Couronne. Previously, H.M. King George had conferred on him the Commandership of the Order of the British Empire.
He relinquished political work in order to resume duties in his University, which had suffered considerably during the German occupation. On his retirement from the University he was actively associated with various industrial projects, and members of the Institution who took part in the Meetings in Belgium in the summer of 1922 will recollect the prominent part he played in the organization of the Engineering Congress held under the auspices of the Liege Association of Engineers.
He became a Member of this Institution in 1915; he was also a Member of several other technical societies, notably the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
He died on 30th September 1922, aged seventy-three years.
1922 Obituary [2]
HERMAN VICTOR HUBERT died On September 30, 1922.
He was born at Liege in 1849, and after originally following a course of philosophy and literature, entered the School of Mines in 1867. He was appointed engineer on the mining staff in 1872, and whilst serving at Mons continued his studies in physical science and mathematics.
In 1889 he was appointed Director of Mines in the Liege district, and in 1905 he became Inspector-General of Mines in Belgium. He was a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and was also the recipient of several foreign orders. He was a member of numerous technical societies, and was elected a member of the, Iron and Steel Institute in 1906. He contributed the following papers to the proceedings of the Institute :
"The Design of Blast-Furnace Gas-Engines in Belgium," 1906. "Present Methods of Testing, with Special Reference to the Work of the. International Testing Association," 1913. "Recent Progress in the Design of Large Blast-Furnace Gas-Engines with Special Reference to Belgian Practice," 1915.
1922 Obituary[3]
"THE LATE PROFESSOR HERMAN-VICTOR HUBERT.
We greatly regret to have to record the death, which occurred at Spa, on September 30, of Professor Herman-Victor Hubert, of Liege University.
Professor Hubert was born in Liege on May 19, 1849, and quite early in life he was noted for his great love of work and his keenness in the acquirement of knowledge. The success which attended his studies, notably at the Liege University where he qualified as an engineer, whilst he followed courses in philosophy and literature, attracted the kindly notice of his various professors. It should he noted in this connection that he lost his father when he was only nineteen years of age, the responsibilities for the family thus devolving upon him at a time when he was preparing actively for ms profession. Nevertheless, he sustained brilliantly the examination for the diploma of mining engineer, and was appointed to the Corps of Mining Engineers at Mons, when he was barely 23. At the same time as he carried out the important duties of a mining engineer in the Mons district, his activity was such that he undertook a professorship of differential and integral calculus, and of physios both pure and applied.
His work as a mining engineer having led to his transference to Liege, he obtained the post of professor of geometry and meohanics at the college of that oity; he ultimately became the director of the college, and soon after was appointed assistant professor of applied mechanics to the late Mr. Dwelshanvers, at Liege University. The numerous engineers who have studied under Professor Hubert remember him as a most clear exponent of all technical problems; besides this, his unvarying courtesy endeared him to them all.
Professor Hubert was promoted to Chief Engineer of Mines in 1898, and the reputation he had acquired as an expert in mining matters led to his being appointed on various prospecting expeditions in the Crimea, Spain, Sardinia, Algeria, Hungary, Holland, the Caucasus and America. When, in 1904, Mr. Dwelshanvers was created Emeritus Professor of Liege University, Professor Hubert succeeded him, and the manner in which his nomination was received by his pupils, former pupils and friends afforded a striking proof of the esteem in which he was held. He contributed extensively to the Annuatrede I’Association des Inginieura del'Ecole de Liige, notably in the matter of high power gas engines, a type of engine for which, from the very commencement, he entertained the greatest hopes. During the late war, a Professor Hubert resided many months in London, d where he made a large number of friends. It will be remembered that at the spring meeting, 1915 , of the Iron and Steel Institute, he read a paper on Blast Furnace Gas Engines with Special Reference to Belgium.”* Our last reference to Professor Hubert is given on page 807 of our last volume, this being our report of the Congress held in Liege in June, on the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the formation of the Liege Association of Engineers, when he opened the proceedings and welcomed the visitors among whom were the president and many members of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
At the time of his death, Professor Hibert as Hon. General Inspector of Mines and Emeritus Professor at Liege University. He was also intimately connected with a number of Belgian industrial concerns; he was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers since 1915, a member of the Iron and Steel Institute since 1906, also a member of French and American scientific associations. He was, further, a Commander of the Order of Leopold, Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown, Commander of the Order of the British Emprire and Officer of the Legion of Honour. He leavers a widow and a young son to whom we tender our deepest sympathy, We desire to condole also with the host of Belgian colleagues who will greatly miss their genial professor and friend."
1922 Obituary[4]
"The Late Professor. H. Hubert.
The minutes of the summer meeting at Paris and Liege having been read, Dr. Hele-Shaw referred to the recent death of Professor H. Hubert, the senior professor in.the Univeristy of Liege, who had so warmly welcomed 'members of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on the occasion of their resent visit to Liege. Professor Hubert was one of the most distinguished of Continental scientist. The council had ' decided to send on behalf of the Institution a letter of condolence to Madame. Hubert."
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ 1922 Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Obituaries
- ↑ 1922 Iron and Steel Institute: Obituaries
- ↑ The Engineer 1922/10/06
- ↑ Engineering 1922/10/27 - The Institution of Mechanical Engineers Minutes