It was created following the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871), and bears the name of Émile Jacqmain, a former Alderman for Public Education.

[1] This area is served by the metro and premetro (underground tram) stations De Brouckère (on lines 1, 4, 5 and 10) and Rogier (on lines 2, 4, 6 and 10).

[5] In 1919, it was renamed in honour of the liberal politician and Alderman for Public Education, Émile Jacqmain (1860–1933),[5][1] who had been arrested and subsequently deported by the Germans in 1917.

During the 20th century, the offices of many daily newspapers were located on the Boulevard Émile Jacqmain[6] (including De Standaard, Het Laatste Nieuws and Het Nieuwsblad).

In the 1980s, the Flemish newspapers left, and in 2006, La Libre Belgique was the last to leave the Boulevard Émile Jacqmain.