The Royal Carillon School was founded in 1922 by renowned city carillonneur of Mechelen Jef Denyn, in whose honor it was later named, with the support of Americans Herbert Hoover, John D. Rockefeller, and William Gorham Rice. The first institution of its kind, the school soon gained international acclaim and has trained carillonneurs from numerous countries, including Australia, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ghana, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Taiwan, the Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.