Alfred Defuisseaux

Alfred Defuisseaux (9 December 1843 – 11 November 1901) was a Belgian lawyer, writer, journalist, socialist, and politician.

Biography Alfred Eloi Nicolas Defuisseaux was born into a family of six in Mons, Hainaut Province, Belgium on 9 December 1843. His father was a Belgian lawyer and industrialist named Nicolas Defuisseaux. Alfred's grandfather, Philippe Joseph Defuisseaux, played a notable role in declaring the establishment of the French republic in the city of Mons in 1792.

Alfred Defuisseaux graduated as a Doctor of Law at the Free University of Brussels in 1868, registering as a lawyer at the Mons bar. His early legal practice centred on defending the working class through Workers' compensation cases, specifically representing coal miners who were victims of firedamp.

In 1870, Alfred helped the campaign of his older brother Léon, who was elected a Liberal Democratic Member of parliament.

Defuisseaux published A People's Catechism in March 1886, which sold over 500,000 copies in working-class circles. This work aimed at educating the people against the ruling classes and the State before the eventual Belgian strike of 1886 occurred in the Province of Hainaut. His involvement led to his conviction by the Brabant Assizes, resulting in two six-month prison sentences. Fleeing to France before the verdict, he continued his political and journalistic efforts, and within five years, he was sentenced in absentia to 29 years in prison.

On 1 September 1900, he retired to Nimy in the city of Mons, Belgium. Moral Tales for the Use of the People , 1887