Jules Anspach is Born

Today in Masonic History Jules Anspach is born in 1829.

Jules Anspach was a Belgian politician.

Anspach was born on July 20th, 1829 in Brussels. He studied law at the Free University of Brussels which has since been split into the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussels. From the Free University of Brussels he received a Doctor of Laws.

Politically Anspach rose rapidly and by 1863, at the age of 34 he was elected Mayor of the city of Brussels. At the time Brussels was still very much a medieval city. It's central source of water was the Senne, and it had become highly polluted. Anspach needed to act with a plan to help modernize the city and get the polluted, health hazard that was running through the middle of city taken care of. Anspach put into place a plan to partially divert and to cover up the Senne as it flowed through the city. In the end the plan called for the enclosing of roughly 1.4 miles of the river in parallel 20 foot tunnels. This also created a central boulevard through the city.

The design changes to the city that Anspach purposed, including the covering of the Senne, are still part of the modern city of Brussels.

Anspach passed away on May 19th , 1879. He was 49.

At the time many Liberals in Belgium were Freemasons and Anspach was no exception to this. He was a member of lodge Les Amis Philantropes and also served as the lodge's Worshipful Master.

This article provided by Brother Eric C. Steele.