Vinçotte was born in Antwerp. His father was Jean-Henri Vinçotte (1807–1890), a man who started out as a communal teacher but eventually, through studies in Leuven and Liège, became first a professor in Antwerp, then Ghent, and ended his career as a high school inspector (a function that was brand new and very prestigious at the time). Vinçotte Sr. was a highly respected man, once described as "la personnification du devoir et du devoir austère. Ses inspections étaient conduites de la façon la plus consciencieuse"Quoted in Jaumotte, page 11. Translation: ..."the personification of duty and austere duty. His inspections were performed in the most meticulous way".
