W. (Willem) Blommaert

Born on 15 June 1886 in Hoorebeke-Sainte-Marie, near Oudenaarde in Belgium, Willem Blommaert studied history under the noted scholar Henri Pirenne at the University of Ghent. He later moved to South Africa, where he became a respected historian and university leader.

Blommaert is especially associated with Stellenbosch. He served there as professor of history, later became dean, and went on to lead the university as rector during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Contemporary notices remembered him not only for his scholarship but also for his character and dedication to education.

For readers today, he is perhaps best known as the co-editor, with S. F. N. Gie, of Uit ou Reisbeskrywinge, a collection of historical travel narratives and literary sources about the Cape. He died on 18 October 1934, leaving behind a body of work valued by both historians and general readers interested in South Africa’s past.