Hamelius was born on 26 April 1868 in
Ypres,
West Flanders,
Belgium, where his father, originally from
Luxembourg, was stationed as a military doctor. Between the ages of 3 and 12 he grew up in
Metz, which was then in the
German Empire, and received his primary education in German. After returning to Belgium he trained as a teacher, and taught at secondary schools (
athénées) in Tournai, Charleroi and Ixelles. He received a doctorate in
Germanic philology from the
University of Liège in 1898. In 1904 he became professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Liège, giving his inaugural lecture on 11 November. Although growing up speaking
Luxembourgish at home, he had become fully fluent in English, French, and German. In 1914 he produced a personal account of the
Battle of Liège in English. During the war he worked from London for the intelligence and propaganda services of the
Belgian government in exile. His article "La littérature des proscrits en Angleterre" (on two pieces of 14th-century outlaw literature) appeared in the first issue of the flagship ''
Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire''. He died in Liège on 23 February 1922. ==Works==