It was on this date, January 3, 1868, that Belgian archaeologist and philologist Franz Valery-Marie Cumont was born in Aalst, Belgium. He studied at the Royal Athenaeum in Brussels, then at the University of Ghent, and earned his doctor of philosophy and letters in 1887 at the age of 19. By age 24 (1892) Cumont was named part-time lecturer in Philology at the University of Ghent. He was a member of academies in various European capitals and focused his study and writing on the history of the religions.

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Originally published January 2003 by Ronald Bruce Meyer.