G. J. Renier
Gustaaf Johannes Petrus Renier was professor of Dutch History at University College London.Life
Renier was the child of Johanna Maria Elisabeth Renier and the maritime pilot Peter Paul Renier, both natives of Flushing. He was sent to school in Antwerp and Leuven, and studied History at the University of Ghent, beginning a doctorate under Henri Pirenne. At the outbreak of the First World War he fled to England, and remained there working as a journalist, biographer and translator, before completing a doctorate under Pieter Geyl. In 1936 he succeeded Geyl as Reader in Dutch History at University College London, retiring in 1957.
In contrast to his former advisor, Geyl, he took the view that Dutch and Belgian nationhood were highly distinct.Works
