Antoine Fonck
{{Short description|First Belgian soldier killed in WWI (1893–1914}}
{{Expand French|topic=bio|Antoine Fonck|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Antoine-Adolphe Fonck
| image = Antoine Fonck - Museum Cabour WOII & 2-4 Lansiers Adinkerke 20-04-2018.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date|1893|01|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = Verviers, Liège Province, Belgium
| death_date = {{death date and age|1914|08|04|1893|01|10|df=y}}
| death_place = Thimister-Clermont, Liège Province, Belgium
| placeofburial = Thimister-Clermont Communal Cemetery
| allegiance = {{flag|Belgium}}
| branch = {{army|Belgium}}
| branch_label = Branch
| unit = 2nd Lancer Regiment
| known_for = First Belgian soldier to be killed in World War I
| battles = World War I{{KIA}}
}}
Antoine-Adolphe Fonck (10 January 1893 – 4 August 1914) was a Belgian soldier of World War I. He was known as the first Belgian soldier to be killed in the war.
Biography
File:Thimister Monument Fonck 5.jpg
Fonck was born on 10 January 1893 in Verviers, Belgium, into a family of modest income. He lost both of his parents in childhood and was raised by his grandmother. He later worked as a shopkeeper at the Grand Bazaar of Liège.{{Cite web |last= |date=2020-08-06 |title=Le lancier Antoine- Adolphe Fonck, premier mort belge de la Première Guerre mondiale |url=https://curieuseshistoires-belgique.be/antoine-adolphe-fonck-meurs-premier-comme-devant/ |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=Curieuses Histoires Belgique |language=fr-FR}}
In 1911 he enlisted as a volunteer in the Belgian army, joining the 2nd Lancer Regiment. Following the outbreak of World War I, on 4 August 1914, at 10:30 am, he was killed during a reconnaissance mission to the La Croix-Polinard hamlet in Thimister-Clermont.{{Cite web |title=Monument à la mémoire du cavalier Antoine FONCK, Thimister |url=https://bel-memorial.org/names_on_memorials/display_names_on_mon.php?MON_ID=605 |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=bel-memorial.org |language=fr}}
Fonck was buried at the Thimister-Clermont Communal Cemetery on 16 August 1914. A monument was later erected at the spot where he died.{{Cite web |title=Memorial Antoine-Adolphe Fonck - Thimister-Clermont |url=https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/50285/Memorial-Antoine-Adolphe-Fonck.htm |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=TracesOfWar.com |language=en}}
See also
= First soldiers killed in World War I =
- Albert Mayer, the first soldier and first Imperial German Army soldier killed, August 2, 1914
- Jules-André Peugeot, the first French Army soldier killed, August 2, 1914
- John Parr, the first British Army soldier killed, August 21, 1914
- Thomas Enright, one of the first three American Army soldiers killed, November 3, 1917
- Merle Hay, one of the first three American Army soldiers killed, November 3, 1917
- James Bethel Gresham, one of the first three American Army soldiers killed, November 3, 1917
= Last soldiers killed in World War I =
- George Edwin Ellison, the last British Army soldier killed, at {{no wrap|9:30 a.m. November 11, 1918}}
- Augustin Trébuchon, the last French Army soldier killed, at {{no wrap|10:45 a.m. November 11, 1918}}
- Marcel Toussaint Terfve, the last Belgian Army soldier killed, at {{no wrap|10:45 a.m. November 11, 1918}}
- George Lawrence Price, the last Canadian Army soldier killed, at {{no wrap|10:58 a.m. November 11, 1918}}
- Henry Gunther, the last soldier and last American Army soldier killed, at {{no wrap|10:59 a.m. November 11, 1918}}
References
External links
- {{Commons-inline}}
- {{Find a Grave|id=133797448}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonck, Antoine}}
Category:Belgian Army personnel of World War I
Category:Belgian military personnel killed in World War I