Henri La Fontaine

Belgian lawyer, politician and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1854-1943)
Person human Q190894
Henri La Fontaine
Atelier photographique Stern, Bruxelles · Public Domain · Wikimedia
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Summary

Henri La Fontaine was born on April 22, 1854[1], in Brussels[2]. He died on May 14, 1943[3], in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert - Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe[4]. He worked as a politician[5], lawyer[6], bibliographer[7], pacifist[8], and women's rights activist[9]. He ranks in the top 0.73% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (782 views/month, #7,279 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • Place of burial: Brussels Cemetery[11]
  • Country of citizenship: Belgium[12]
  • Native language: French[13]
  • Occupation: jurist[14], socialist[15], author[16]
  • Field of work: bibliography[17], documentation science[18], international relations[19], international law[20]
  • Position held: provincial senator[21], president of the Belgian Alpine Club[22], senator[23]
  • Educated at: Université libre de Bruxelles[24]
  • Award received: Nobel Peace Prize[25]
  • Sex or gender: male[26]
  • Commons category: Henri La Fontaine[27]
  • Archives at: Mundaneum[28]
  • Family name: La Fontaine[29]
  • Given name: Henri[30]
  • Topic's main category: Category:Henri La Fontaine[31]
  • Described by source: The Encyclopedia Americana[32], Collier's New Encyclopedia, 1921[33]
  • Nominated for: Nobel Peace Prize[34]
  • Languages spoken, written or signed: French[35]
  • Sibling: Léonie La Fontaine[36]

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for Henri La Fontaine include Fontaine Heights[37], a mountain[38].

Why It Matters

Henri La Fontaine has Wikipedia articles in 27 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[39] He is known by 30 alternative names across languages and contexts.[40]

He has been cited as an influence by Paul Otlet[41], a writer[42], 1868–1944[43], of Belgium[44], specialised in bibliography[45].

He is credited with the discovery of Universal Decimal Classification[46], a universal classification scheme[47], founded in 1895[48]. Entities named for him include Fontaine Heights[37], a mountain[38].

FAQs

Where was Henri La Fontaine born?

Henri La Fontaine's place of birth was Brussels[2].

Where did Henri La Fontaine die?

Henri La Fontaine passed away in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert - Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe[4].

What did Henri La Fontaine do for work?

Henri La Fontaine worked as a politician[5], lawyer[6], bibliographer[7], pacifist[8], and women's rights activist[9].

Where did Henri La Fontaine go to school?

Henri La Fontaine was educated at Université libre de Bruxelles[24].

What awards did Henri La Fontaine receive?

Honors received include Nobel Peace Prize[25].

Who did Henri La Fontaine influence?

Henri La Fontaine has been cited as an influence by Paul Otlet[41].

What did Henri La Fontaine discover?

Henri La Fontaine is credited as discoverer of Universal Decimal Classification[46].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . ODIS. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [26] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [21] ↑ . ODIS. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  6. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [23] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  8. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [17] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  10. [18] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  11. [19] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  12. [20] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  13. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  14. [5] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  15. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [7] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  17. [8] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  18. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [14] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  20. [15] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  21. [16] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  22. [11] ↑ . Find a Grave. wikidata.org.
  23. [25] ↑ . nobelprize.org. Retrieved . nobelprize.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  24. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [28] ↑ . archives.mundaneum.org. Retrieved . archives.mundaneum.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  26. [1] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  27. [3] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  28. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  30. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [34] ↑ . nobelprize.org. wikidata.org.
  34. [35] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  35. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [46] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [42] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [43] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [44] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [45] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [47] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [48] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [38] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [39] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [40] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

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APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Henri La Fontaine. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/henri-la-fontaine
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 1d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Claims rich → —
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  2. 11d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-10-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Sitelink count → 58
    Wikipedia languages → ['ar', 'arz', 'az', 'be', 'be_x_old', 'bg', 'bn', 'ca', 'cs', 'da', 'de', 'en',
    Nlb authority id (belarus) → NLB-ar5808229
    Claims rich → —
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  3. 14w ago · Nyuhn · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14541 → 1VzX8O
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/40849|batch #40849]]: ZGBK ID"
  4. 16w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14536 → 433170
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  5. 21w ago · KrBot bot · 2026-05-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Position held → provincial senator, provincial senator, provincial senator +2
    Occupation → politician, lawyer, bibliographer +5
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Position held: senator"
  6. 21w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Place of birth → Brussels
    Educated at → Université libre de Bruxelles
    Aliases → —
    Writing language → French
    + 26 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32074|batch #32074]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (21)"
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