Jan Frans Willems (11 March 1793 – 24 June 1846) was a Flemish writer and the father of the Flemish movement. He was born in Boechout, Belgium, while the city was under French control. He began his career as a notary in Antwerp.

In his free time, he focused on writing. In 1810, he won a prize for a poem celebrating the peace of Tilsit. He supported the creation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the revival of Flemish literature. He wrote many works that encouraged the use of the native language of the Netherlands.

During the revolution of 1830, he supported the Orange party. This caused problems with the provisional government. However, he was soon seen as the leader of the Flemish popular movement. His main goal was to ensure equal use of languages in government and law courts. He died in Ghent in 1846.

Among his many writings, the most important were:

He also created several carefully edited versions of old Flemish texts.

Publications

Biographies of Willems were written by Ferdinand Augustijn Snellaert (Ghent, 1847) and Max Rooses (Antwerp, 1874). (New International Encyclopedia). Additionally, a publication by Rooses, Julius Vuylsteke, and Anton Bergmann titled Jan Frans Willems was released in Ghent in 1893.