Philippe Kervyn de Volkaersbeke

Philippe Kervyn de Volkaersbeke (19 April 1815 - 15 July 1881) was a Belgian politician and antiquary.

His maiden speech in the Chamber of Representatives, on 11 June 1861, was against the Anglo-Belgian Treaty of Commerce and Navigation then being negotiated, which he saw as a threat to Ghent's textile industry.

[1] He took an active part in parliamentary debates on the budgets for home affairs and public works, demonstrating concern for the bridges, roads and telegraph lines in his own constituency, as well as for the enlargement of the Ghent–Terneuzen Canal, but also for the better accommodation of the National Archives of Belgium and the State Archives in Ghent, better wages and working conditions for librarians and archivists in state employ, and an increase in the subsidy to Ghent conservatory.

[1] Before and during his political career, he was active in cultural and literary societies, and published on antiquarian themes.

[1] In 1878 he was appointed to the committee preparing the festivities for the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Belgian independence.