Albrecht Rodenbach

Albrecht Rodenbach was the son of Julius Rodenbach, nephew of the founder of the brewery Rodenbach, and Silvia de la Houttre and the oldest of ten children. He was born and raised in Roeselare and was thaught by Hugo Verriest, who was a former student of Guido Gezelle, who were both poets and writers. In 1876 he started university while also promoting the Flemish consciousness and refusing to use French during his education. He did this together with Pol de Mont. In 1877 he, Pol de Mont and Amaat Joos from Sint-Niklaas founded the Algemene Studentenbond. In the same year he also founded the magazine Het Pennoen with Pol de Mont and wrote the Psalm of Rodenbach. He died in 1880 from tuberculosis. Fun fact: people who live in the streets named after him get a free Rodenbach beer on his birthday.