1802 - apprenticed to his father in Verviers, Belgium. 1807 - when only seventeen, he shared with his brother Charles James the management of the family factory at Liège. 1817 - the brothers established at Seraing on the River Meuse what was to prove the most extensive iron foundry and machine manufactory on the continent. 1835 - became the sole proprietor of the business. 1839 - the firm was in liquidation. 1871 - a statue of him was unveiled at Seraing.