Notable people from Brussels
Encyclopedia
Patroness of Brussels
- Saint Gudulae of Brussels and EibingenGudulaSaint Gudula was born in the pagus of Brabant . According to her 11th-century biography , written in Lobbes Abbey between 1048 and 1051, she was the daughter of a duke of Lotharingia called Witger and Amalberga of Maubeuge...
, Saint of the city and national saint of Belgium
The Belgian Monarchs
The Belgian Monarchs reside in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. They were all born in Brussels (except for Leopold ILeopold I of Belgium
Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
).
- Leopold ILeopold I of BelgiumLeopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
(1790–1865), the first King of the Belgians - Leopold IILeopold II of BelgiumLeopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
(1835–1909), the second King of the Belgians - Albert IAlbert I of BelgiumAlbert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
(1875–1934), the third King of the Belgians - Leopold IIILeopold III of BelgiumLeopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...
(1901–1983), the fourth King of the Belgians - Baudouin (1930–1993), the fifth King of the Belgians
- Albert IIAlbert II of BelgiumAlbert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
(born 1934) the sixth King of the Belgians
Minister-Presidents of Brussels
- Charles PicquéCharles PicquéCharles Picqué is a Belgian, French-speaking politician. He is currently serving his second term as Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region....
(P.S.Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
) (1989–1999) - Jacques SimonetJacques SimonetJacques Simonet was a Belgian politician and a former Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.He is the son of Henri Simonet, former Socialist Party minister and for many years mayor of Anderlecht. His mother Marie-Louise Angenet taught at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.He was born in...
(M.R.Reformist MovementThe Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections...
) (1999–2000) - François-Xavier de DonnéaFrançois-Xavier de DonnéaFrançois Xavier Gustave Marie Joseph Corneille Hubert, Knight de Donnea de Hamoir is a Belgian politician and a former mayor of the City of Brussels and Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region....
(M.R.Reformist MovementThe Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections...
) (2000–2003) - Daniel DucarmeDaniel DucarmeDaniel Ducarme was a Belgian politician and former Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.-Background and political affiliation:...
(M.R.Reformist MovementThe Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections...
) (2003–2004) - Jacques SimonetJacques SimonetJacques Simonet was a Belgian politician and a former Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.He is the son of Henri Simonet, former Socialist Party minister and for many years mayor of Anderlecht. His mother Marie-Louise Angenet taught at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.He was born in...
(M.R.Reformist MovementThe Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections...
) (2004) (replaced Daniel Ducarme who resigned) - Charles PicquéCharles PicquéCharles Picqué is a Belgian, French-speaking politician. He is currently serving his second term as Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region....
(P.S.Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
) (2004)
Governors of Brussels
- André Degroeve (1995–1998)
- Raymonde Dury (1998) (resigned)
- Véronique Paulus de Châtelet (1998)
Mayors of Brussels
- Joseph Van De MeulebroeckJoseph Van De MeulebroeckBaron Frédéric Joseph Van de Meulebroeck was a Belgian liberal politician and burgomaster of Brussels....
(lib.) (1939–1956) - Lucien CooremansLucien CooremansLucien Georges François Philippe Cooremans was a Belgian liberal politician and burgomaster of Brussels....
(lib.) (1956–1975) - Pierre Van HalterenPierre Van HalterenPierre Van Halteren was a Belgian liberal politician and burgomaster from Brussels . In 1979, he was the president of the Brussels francophone liberal party, the Parti Liberal until it was dissolved when the PL joined the PRLW to form the PRL.-Sources:* *...
(lib.) (1975–1982) - Hervé BrouhonHervé BrouhonHervé Brouhon was a Belgian politician for the Belgian Socialist Party.Brouhon was born in Etterbeek. He became a teacher, he was first elected as a municipal councillor in Brussels in 1950 and became its first socialist mayor from 1983 to 1993...
(P.S.Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
) (1977–1983) - Freddy ThielemansFreddy ThielemansFreddy Thielemans is a Belgian socialist politician and, since 2001, the current mayor of Brussels. He had previously served as the mayor of Brussels for a period in 1994.-Biography:...
(P.S.Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
) (1983–1988) - Michel DemaretMichel DemaretMichel Demaret was a Belgian politician.-Popular TV hero:Originally a club bouncer of humble origin from the Marolles neighbourhood, his general attitude and manner of speech made him a target for jokes, but also for popularity among many electors and TV viewers, particularly after the...
(PSC, now CdH) 1989-1994) - François-Xavier de DonnéaFrançois-Xavier de DonnéaFrançois Xavier Gustave Marie Joseph Corneille Hubert, Knight de Donnea de Hamoir is a Belgian politician and a former mayor of the City of Brussels and Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region....
(M.R.Reformist MovementThe Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections...
) (1995–2000) - Freddy ThielemansFreddy ThielemansFreddy Thielemans is a Belgian socialist politician and, since 2001, the current mayor of Brussels. He had previously served as the mayor of Brussels for a period in 1994.-Biography:...
(P.S.Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
) (2001)
Born in Brussels
Following notable people were born in the area today known as the Brussels-Capital Region.- AkarovaAkarovaMarguerite Acarin was a Belgian dancer, choreographer, and artist.Acarin is generally known by her stage-name, Akarova. She was called "the Belgian Isadora Duncan". She studied music and dance under Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, creator of eurhythmics, after which she joined the Antwerp ballet...
(Marguerite Acarin, 1904—1991), dancer, choreographer and artist - Chantal AkermanChantal AkermanChantal Anne Akerman is a Belgian film director, artist, and professor of film at the European Graduate School. Akerman's best-known film, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles , exemplifies a dedication to the ellipses of conventional narrative cinema.-Early life:Akerman was born to...
(born 1950), filmmaker and director - Pierre AlechinskyPierre AlechinskyPierre Alechinsky is a Belgian artist. He has lived and worked in France since 1951. His work is related to Tachisme, Abstract expressionism, and Lyrical Abstraction.Alechinsky was born in Brussels...
(born 1927), artist - Marianne Basler (born 1964), French actress
- Patrick BauchauPatrick BauchauPatrick Nicolas Jean Sixte Ghislain Bauchau is a Belgian actor.-Early life:Bauchau was born in Brussels, the son of Mary , a Russian-born school administrator and publisher, and Henry Bauchau, a school administrator, publisher, writer, and psychoanalyst who served as an officer in the Belgian...
(born 1938), actor - Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of BelgiumPrincess Joséphine-Charlotte of BelgiumPrincess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as spouse of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg...
(1927-2005), Grand Duchess of Luxembourg - Plastic BertrandPlastic BertrandPlastic Bertrand is a Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, editor and television presenter, best known for the 1977 international hit single "Ça plane pour moi".-Early life and bands:...
(Roger Jouret) (born 1958), rock musician - Thierry BoutsenThierry BoutsenThierry Marc Boutsen is a former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One.-Career:thumb|left|Boutsen driving for [[Arrows]] at the [[1984 Dallas Grand Prix]]....
(born 1957), Formula OneFormula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
driver - Jacques BrelJacques BrelJacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
(1929–1978), singer-songwriter and actor - Jean-Jacques CassimanJean-Jacques CassimanJean-Jacques Cassiman is a Belgian researcher and professor of human genetics.-Education and career:He graduated in 1967 from the Department of Medical Sciences of the Catholic University of Leuven and then did five years research on human genetics at Stanford University in the United States of...
(born 1943 in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek), researcher and professor of human genetics - Charles VIICharles VII, Holy Roman EmperorCharles VII Albert a member of the Wittelsbach family, was Prince-elector of Bavaria from 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 until his death in 1745...
(1697-1745), Holy Roman Emperor - Liz Claiborne (1929–2007), fashion designer
- Gérard CorbiauGérard CorbiauGérard Corbiau is a Belgian film director.Corbiau was born in Brussels, Belgium. He is best known for his costume dramas about music, Le maître de musique , Farinelli and Le roi danse . Two of them were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...
(born 1941), film director - Julio CortázarJulio CortázarJulio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar, was an Argentine writer. Cortázar, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, influenced an entire generation of Spanish speaking readers and writers in the Americas and Europe.-Early life:Cortázar's parents, Julio José Cortázar and...
(1914-1984), Argentine novelist and poet - Pieter Crockaert (1470–1514), philosopher and theologian of the Southern Netherlands
- François d'AguilonFrançois d'AguilonFrançois d'Aguilon , was a Belgian Jesuit mathematician, physicist and architect....
or Aguilonius (1546–1617), mathematician and physicist - Jacques DanoisJacques DanoisJacques Danois, pseudonym of Jacques Maricq was a reporter and writer who was director of information at UNICEF....
(1927-2008), actor, journalist, writer - Jan De CockJan De CockJan De Cock is a contemporary Belgian visual artist. De Cock creates large structures – usually in plywood – that refer to early modernist and suprematist sculpture and architecture. He also creates photographical and video work. He was educated in Ghent and Brussels...
(born 1976), visual artist - Colijn de CoterColijn de CoterColijn de Coter was an early Netherlandish painter who produced mainly altarpieces. He worked primarily in Brussels and Antwerp in present-day Belgium . His name was sometimes given as Colijn van Brusele , indicating that he hailed from Brussels or at the least lived there most of his active life...
(c. 1446–1538), Renaissance painter - Michel De GhelderodeMichel De GhelderodeMichel de Ghelderode was an avant-garde Belgian dramatist, writing in French.-Career:...
(1898–1962), dramatist - Pierre DelignePierre Deligne- See also :* Deligne conjecture* Deligne–Mumford moduli space of curves* Deligne–Mumford stacks* Deligne cohomology* Fourier–Deligne transform* Langlands–Deligne local constant- External links :...
(born 1944), mathematician - Thierry De MeyThierry De MeyThierre De Mey is a musician and filmmaker from Belgium.-Biography:After studying film at the IAD, he continued to studying music composition and contemporary dance after meeting Fernand Schirren, for whose works he has written original incidental music...
(born 1956), film director and composer - Jean-Luc De MeyerJean-Luc De MeyerJean-Luc De Meyer is a vocalist and lyricist who is best known as the lead vocalist of the Belgian EBM group Front 242.He started singing in the experimental group "Under Viewer" with Patrick Codenys...
(born 1963), musician, lead singer of Front 242Front 242Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:... - Lodewijk de VadderLodewijk de VadderLodewijk de Vadder was a Flemish Baroque landscape painter and engraver.-Biography:He became a master of Antwerp's Guild of St. Luke in 1628, and learned painting from his father and brothers. He specialized in landscapes with woods, in the manner of his contemporary Jacques d'Arthois and his...
(1605–1655), landscape painter - Charles A. DidierCharles A. DidierCharles Amand Didier is an emeritus member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
(born 1935), General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Antoine DuquesneAntoine DuquesneAntoine Duquesne was a Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the French Community of Belgium with the MR/MCC/PRL, Member of the Bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home...
(born 1941), politician - Francois DuquesnoyFrançois DuquesnoyFrançois Duquesnoy was a Baroque sculptor in Rome. His more idealized representations are often contrasted with the emotional character of Bernini's works, while his style shows greater affinity to Algardi's sculptures....
(1597–1643), sculptor - Marc DutrouxMarc DutrouxMarc Dutroux is a Belgian serial killer and child molester, convicted of having kidnapped, tortured and sexually abused six girls during 1995 and 1996, ranging in age from 8 to 19, four of whom he murdered. He was also convicted of having killed a suspected former accomplice, Bernard Weinstein,...
(born 1956), serial killer - Lara FabianLara FabianLara Fabian is a Belgian-Italian international singer who also holds Canadian citizenship. Multilingual, she sings in French, Italian and English....
(born Lara Crokaert, 1970), singer - Jacques FeyderJacques FeyderJacques Feyder was a Belgian actor, screenwriter and film director who worked principally in France, but also in the USA, Britain and Germany. He was a leading director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 1930s he became associated with the style of poetic realism in French cinema...
(1885–1948), screenwriter and international film director, one of the founders of poetic realismPoetic realismPoetic realism was a film movement in France of the 1930s and through the war years. More a tendency than a movement, Poetic Realism is not strongly unified like Soviet Montage or French Impressionism. Its leading filmmakers were Jean Renoir, Pierre Chenal, Jean Vigo, Julien Duvivier, and Marcel...
in French cinemaCinema of FranceThe Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle... - André FranquinAndré FranquinAndré Franquin was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best known comic strip creations are Gaston and Marsupilami, created while he worked on the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip from 1947 to 1969, during a period seen by many as the series' golden age.-Franquin's beginnings:Franquin was...
(1924–1997), cartoonist - Raymond GoethalsRaymond GoethalsRaymond Goethals was a Belgian football coach who notably led Marseille to victory in the UEFA Champions League final in 1993, becoming the first coach to win a European trophy with a French club....
(1921–2004), (national) soccer trainer; his team Olympique Marseille won the 1993 European CupUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It... - Fernand GraveyFernand GraveyFernand Gravey , also known as Fernand Gravet in America, was the son of actors Georges Mertens and Fernande Depernay, who have appeared in silent films produced by pioneer "Belge Cinéma Film" .- Early life :He started performing at the age of five, under his father's direction...
(1904–1970), also known as Fernand Gravet, film actor - Georges GrünGeorges GrünGeorges Serge Grün is a former Belgian football defender and is now a TV presenter for the UEFA Champions League matches at RTL TVI....
(born 1962), football (soccer) defender - Pierre HarmelPierre HarmelPierre Charles José Marie Harmel, from 1991 Count Harmel was a Belgian lawyer, Christian Democratic politician and diplomat...
(1911–2009), politician, former Prime Minister of Belgium - Jacqueline HarpmanJacqueline HarpmanJacqueline Harpman is a Belgian writer who writes in French. She also works as a psychoanalyst and lives in Brussels.-Works:* L'Amour et l'acacia - 1958* Brève Arcadie - 1959...
(born 1929), novelist - Friedrich Moritz HartogsFriedrich HartogsFriedrich Moritz Hartogs was a German-Jewish mathematician, known for work on set theory and foundational results on several complex variables.- See also :*Hartogs domain*Hartogs–Laurent expansion...
(1874–1943), German-Jewish mathematician - Audrey HepburnAudrey HepburnAudrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
(1929–1993), Anglo-Dutch actress, fashion model, and humanitarian - HergéHergéGeorges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
(Georges Remi) (1907–1983), comicsFranco-Belgian comicsFranco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
writer, creator of The Adventures of TintinThe Adventures of TintinThe Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé... - Jacky IckxJacky IckxJacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx is a Belgian former racing driver who achieved 25 podium finishes in Formula One and six wins in the 24 hours of Le Mans.- Racing career :...
(born 1945), racing driver - Edgar P. JacobsEdgar Pierre JacobsEdgard Félix Pierre Jacobs, , better known under his pen name Edgar P. Jacobs, was a Belgian comic book creator , born in Brussels, Belgium...
(1904–1987), comicsFranco-Belgian comicsFranco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
writer, created the series that made him famous, Blake and MortimerBlake and MortimerBlake and Mortimer is a Belgian comics series created by the Belgian writer and comics artist Edgar P. Jacobs. It was one of the first series to appear in the Belgian comics magazine Tintin in 1946, and was subsequently published in book form by Les Editions du Lombard.The main protagonists of the...
. - Paul-Emile JansonPaul-Emile JansonPaul-Emile Janson was a Belgian liberal politician.Born in Brussels, Janson was the son of liberal statesman Paul Janson . He studied law at the Free University of Brussels , practised as a lawyer, and also taught at the university...
(1872–1944), politician, former Prime Minister of Belgium - Richard JonckheereRichard JonckheereRichard Jonckheere , aka Richard 23 or Richard JK, is an Industrial and EBM musician. He is a member of Front 242 and was a founding member of Revolting Cocks...
(born 1965), musician, among others member of Front 242Front 242Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:... - Vincent KompanyVincent KompanyVincent Jean Mpoy Kompany is a Belgian footballer who plays for Manchester City and the Belgium national team. He is capable of playing at both centre back and defensive midfielder. Kompany is of partial Congolese ancestry...
(born 1986), football (soccer) player - Henri La FontaineHenri La FontaineHenri La Fontaine , was a Belgian international lawyer and president of the International Peace Bureau. He received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1913.-Biography:...
(1854–1943), lawyer and president of the International Peace BureauInternational Peace BureauInternational Peace Bureau is the world's oldest international peace federation. It was founded in 1891, and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910....
, Nobel Prize for Peace in 1913 - Camille LemonnierCamille LemonnierAntoine Louis Camille Lemonnier was a Belgian writer, poet and journalist. He was a member of the Symbolist La Jeune Belgique group, but his best known works are realist. His first work was Salon de Bruxelles , a collection of art criticism...
(1844–1913), writer - Claude Lévi-StraussClaude Lévi-StraussClaude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology"....
(born 1908), French anthropologist - Hilda MadsenHilda MadsenHilda Chedomille Madsen was a British-American artist and dog breeder.-Early life:Born Hilda Chedomille Narracott in Belgium, to an English father and American mother...
(1910–1981), British-American artist and dog breeder - Mary of BurgundyMary of BurgundyMary of Burgundy ruled the Burgundian territories in Low Countries and was suo jure Duchess of Burgundy from 1477 until her death...
(1457–1482), Duchess of Burgundy from 1477-1482 - Axel MerckxAxel MerckxAxel Merckx , is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer who retired from the sport in August 2007. Since he began his professional career in 1993, he has won an Olympic Bronze medal and competed in 8 Tours de France, finishing in 6 as the highest-placed Belgian rider...
(born 1972 in UccleUccleUccle or Ukkel is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.Uccle is known for its well-to-do areas, its green spots and its high rental rates.-History:...
), son of Eddy MerckxEddy MerckxEdouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...
, professional road bicycle racer, bronze medal OlympicOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
road race 2004 - Pierre MertensPierre MertensPierre Mertens is a Belgian French-speaking writer and lawyer who specializes in international law, director of the Centre de sociologie de la littérature at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and literary critic with the newspaper Le Soir.Influenced by Franz Kafka, Mertens started to publish...
(born 1939), writer, director of the Centre de sociologie de la littérature at the Université Libre de BruxellesUniversité Libre de BruxellesThe Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:... - Constantin MeunierConstantin MeunierConstantin Meunier , Belgian painter and sculptor, was born in Etterbeek, Brussels.His first exhibit was a plaster sketch, "The Garland," shown at the Brussels Salon in 1851. Soon afterwards, on the advice of the painter Charles de Groux, he abandoned the chisel for the brush...
(1831, EtterbeekEtterbeekEtterbeek is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It neighbours the municipalities of the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Auderghem, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Schaerbeek....
–1905), painter and sculptor - Brian MolkoBrian MolkoBrian Molko is a songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the band Placebo. He is known in particular for his high-pitched vocals, androgynous appearance, and unique, Sonic Youth-influenced guitar style and tuning.-Early life:Born to an American father of French-Italian heritage and a Scottish...
(born 1972), songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist of the band PlaceboPlacebo (band)Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and... - Annemie Neyts (born 1944), politician, former president of the Liberal InternationalLiberal InternationalLiberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
, president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform PartyEuropean Liberal Democrat and Reform PartyThe European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party is a European political party mainly active in the European Union, composed of 56 national-level liberal and liberal-democratic parties from across Europe... - Helena NoguerraHelena NoguerraHelena Noguerra is a Belgian actress, singer and television presenter of Portuguese descent. She is the sister of singer Lio....
(born 1969), actress, singer and television presenter - Paul NougéPaul NougéPaul Nougé was a Belgian poet, philosopher and surrealist photographer who heavily influenced the Belgian Surrealist School of which he was a member....
(1895–1967), surrealist poet and philosopher - PeyoPeyoPierre Culliford , known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist, perhaps best known for the creation of The Smurfs comic strip.-Biography:...
(Pierre Culliford) (1928–1992), illustrator and creator of the Smurfs - Étienne PinteÉtienne PinteÉtienne Pinte is a French politician, born in Ixelles . He long was the Député-maire of Versailles, meaning that he was elected as both the Mayor of the city and as a Deputy in the National Assembly , but decided to not run again for Mayor in the 2008 election. He represents the Union for a...
, French politicien, Député-maire of VersaillesVersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
. - Joseph Plateau (1801–1883), physicist; invented an early stroboscopic device, the "phenakistiscope"
- Joseph PoelaertJoseph PoelaertJoseph Poelaert was a Belgian architect.- Life :Born in Brussels to Philip Poelaert , a former architecture student at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Poelaert also trained there under Tilman-François Suys, and then in Paris under Louis Visconti and Jean-Nicolas Huyot.Poelaert...
(1817–1879), architect, author of the Palais de JusticeLaw Courts of BrusselsThe Law Courts of Brussels or Brussels Palace of Justice is the most important Court building in Belgium, and is a notable landmark of Brussels. It was built between 1866 and 1883 in the eclectic style by architect Joseph Poelaert... - Pierre RapsatPierre RapsatPierre Rapsat was a Belgian singer-songwriter who had a very successful career in his homeland and also spells of popularity in other Francophone countries...
(1948–2002), musician - Raymond Rouleau (1904–1981), actor and film director
- Tarec SaffiedineTarec SaffiedineTarec Saffiedine is an Belgian mixed martial artist of Lebanese descent, who competes in the welterweight division. He has fought in a number of promotions around the world including DREAM in Japan and Strikeforce in the United States....
(born 1986), martial artist - Paul SaintenoyPaul SaintenoyPaul Saintenoy was a Belgian architect, teacher, architectural historian, and writer.Born in Ixelles, in the Brussels-Capital Region, he was the son of an architect. He began studying architecture in Antwerp in 1881 then returned home to complete his training in Brussels...
(1862–1952), architect - François SchuitenFrançois SchuitenBaron François Schuiten is a Belgian comic book artist. He is best known for drawing the series Les Cités Obscures.-Biography:François Schuiten was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1956....
(born 1956), comicsFranco-Belgian comicsFranco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
artist - The Singing NunThe Singing NunJeanine Deckers , known in English as The Singing Nun, was a Belgian nun, and a member of the Dominican Fichermont Convent in Belgium. She became internationally famous in 1963 as Sœur Sourire when she scored a hit with the song "Dominique"...
(Jeanine Deckers) (1933–1985), member of a Dominican Convent, famous for her song "Dominique" - Charles SpaakCharles SpaakCharles Spaak was a Belgian screenwriter who was noted particularly for his work in the French cinema during the 1930s...
(1903–1975), screenwriter - Paul-Henri SpaakPaul-Henri SpaakPaul Henri Charles Spaak was a Belgian Socialist politician and statesman.-Early life:Paul-Henri Spaak was born on 25 January 1899 in Schaerbeek, Belgium, to a distinguished Belgian family. His grandfather, Paul Janson was an important member of the Liberal Party...
(1899–1972), politician, several times Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister of BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, former Secretary General of the NATO - Toots ThielemansToots ThielemansJean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans , known as Toots Thielemans, is a Belgian jazz musician well known for his guitar and harmonica playing as well as his whistling. Thielemans is credited as one of the greatest harmonica players of the 20th century...
(born 1922), jazz musician - Philippe ThysPhilippe ThysPhilippe Thys was a Belgian cyclist and three times winner of the Tour de France.-Professional career:...
(1890–1971), cyclist and three-time winner of the Tour de FranceTour de FranceThe Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The... - Jacques TitsJacques TitsJacques Tits is a Belgian and French mathematician who works on group theory and geometry and who introduced Tits buildings, the Tits alternative, and the Tits group.- Career :Tits received his doctorate in mathematics at the age of 20...
(born 1930), Belgian-French mathematician - Philippe TomePhilippe VandeveldePhilippe Vandevelde, working under the pseudonym Tome , is a comic strip script writer. He is known for collaborations with Janry on Spirou et Fantasio and Le Petit Spirou, and with Luc Warnant and later Bruno Gazzotti on Soda...
(Philippe Vandevelde), (born 1957), comic strip writer - ToniaTonia (singer)Tonia is a Belgian singer, best known for her participation in the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest.- Early career :...
(born Arlette Antoine Dominicus 1947), singer - Jean-Philippe ToussaintJean-Philippe ToussaintJean-Philippe Toussaint is a Belgian prose writer and filmmaker. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages and he has had his photographs displayed in Brussels and Japan. Toussaint won the Prix Médicis in 2005 for his novel Fuir...
(born 1957), writer, Prix MédicisPrix MédicisThe Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by Gala Barbisan and Jean-Pierre Giraudoux. It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent."...
2005 - Jean-Claude Tramont (1934–1996), filmmaker
- Ivo Van DammeIvo Van DammeIvo Van Damme was a Belgian middle distance runner.Van Damme was born in Dendermonde. He played football until he was 16, but then switched to athletics...
(1954–1976), middle distance runner, silver medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics1976 Summer OlympicsThe 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
, in both the 800m and 1500m; Memorial van DammeMemorial Van DammeMemorial van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium that takes place in late August or early September...
in Brussels, one of the major track and field meets of the season, named in his honour - Jean-Claude Van DammeJean-Claude Van DammeJean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
(born 1960), actor, nicknamed "The Muscles from Brussels" - Constant Vanden StockConstant Vanden StockConstant Vanden Stock was the honorary president and former president and player of Belgian football club R.S.C. Anderlecht. The stadium of this club is named after him. Constant Vanden Stock also served as coach of the Belgium national football team from 1958 to 1968...
(1914–2008), president and player of Brussels football club R.S.C. AnderlechtR.S.C. AnderlechtRoyal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the... - Alexandra VandernootAlexandra VandernootAlexandra Vandernoot is a Belgian actress. While having starred in a number of French films, her best-known role internationally is as Tessa Noël, Duncan MacLeod's girlfriend, in the fantasy television series Highlander: The Series...
(born 1965), actress - Emile VanderveldeEmile Vanderveldethumb|upright|Emile VanderveldeEmile Vandervelde was a Belgian statesman, born at Ixelles. He studied law at the Free University of Brussels and became doctor of laws in 1885 and doctor of social science in 1888.-Activities:Vandervelde became a member of the Parti Ouvrier...
(1866 in Ixelles – 1938), politician, President from 1900 of the Second International - Jaco Van DormaelJaco Van DormaelJaco Van Dormael is a Belgian film director, screenwriter and playwright. His complex and critically acclaimed films are especially noted for their respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disabilities.- Biography :In the 1980s, he became interested in filmmaking and...
(born 1957 in Ixelles), film director - Jean Van HammeJean Van HammeJean Van Hamme is a Belgian novelist and comic book writer. He has written scripts for a number of Belgian/French comic series, including Histoire sans héros, Thorgal, XIII and Largo Winch.-Early years:...
(born 1939), novelist and scenario writer of comic books - Jan Baptist van HelmontJan Baptist van HelmontJan Baptist van Helmont was an early modern period Flemish chemist, physiologist, and physician. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be "the founder of pneumatic chemistry"...
(1579–1644), chemist, physiologist and physician - Geert van IstendaelGeert van IstendaelGeert van Istendael is the pseudonym of Geert Maria Mauritius Julianus Vanistendael, a Belgian writer, poet and essayist. He studied sociology and philosophy at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. From 1987 until 1993, he worked as a journalist for the Belgian National Television and since 1993 he...
(born 1947 in Uccle), writer - Agnès VardaAgnès VardaAgnès Varda is a French film director and professor at the European Graduate School. Her movies, photographs, and art installations focus on documentary realism, feminist issues, and social commentary — with a distinct experimental style....
(born 1928), French film director - Franky VercauterenFranky VercauterenFrançois Vercauteren , nicknamed "The Little Prince", is a former Belgian football left winger and is now a football manager, who is currently working for Al Jazira Club.- Career :...
(born 1956), football left winger in R.S.C. AnderlechtR.S.C. AnderlechtRoyal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
and R.W.D. MolenbeekR.W.D. MolenbeekRacing White Daring Molenbeek was a Belgian football club founded in 1909 as White Star Club de Bruxelles. It then became a member of the Belgian Football Association later the same year as White Star Athletic Club and received the matricule n°47....
, football manager in R.S.C. AnderlechtR.S.C. AnderlechtRoyal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
and national soccer trainer - Pierre François VerhulstPierre François VerhulstPierre François Verhulst was a mathematician and a doctor in number theory from the University of Ghent in 1825...
(1804–1849), mathematician - Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), anatomist and author of the first complete textbook on human anatomyHuman anatomyHuman anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye...
, De Humani Corporis FabricaDe humani corporis fabricaDe humani corporis fabrica libri septem is a textbook of human anatomy written by Andreas Vesalius in 1543....
(On the Workings of the Human Body) - Diane von FürstenbergDiane von FürstenbergDiane von Fürstenberg, formerly Princess Diane of Fürstenberg , is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon of Fürstenberg...
(born 1946), Belgian-American fashion designer - François WeyergansFrançois WeyergansFrançois Weyergans is a Belgian writer and director. His father, Franz Weyergans, was a Belgian and also a writer, while his mother was from Avignon in France...
(born 1941), writer, Prix GoncourtPrix GoncourtThe Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
2005 - Marguerite YourcenarMarguerite YourcenarMarguerite Yourcenar was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist. Winner of the Prix Femina and the Erasmus Prize, she was the first woman elected to the Académie française, in 1980, and the seventeenth person to occupy Seat 3.-Biography:Yourcenar was born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie...
(1903–1987), French writer and first female member of the Académie françaiseAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
Life and work in Brussels
Following notable people lived or worked in Brussels at least during a certain period of their life.- Jean AbsilJean AbsilJean Absil was a Belgian modernist music composer, organist, and professor at the Brussels Conservatory.- Biography :...
(1893–1974 in Brussels), composer, organist, and professor at the Brussels Conservatory. - Nicolas AncionNicolas AncionNicolas Ancion is a Belgian writer born in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, in 1971. His parents were professional puppeteers.He writes fiction for adults, young adults and children and is the author of several theater plays and poetry collections...
(born 1971), writer, lived and worked from 1994 till 2000 in Brussels - Henryk ArctowskiHenryk ArctowskiHenryk Arctowski was a Polish scientist, oceanographer and Antarctica's explorer.Henryck Arctowski, PhD, was born in Warsaw on 15 July 1871, and educated in Paris, Liege, Zurich and Lemberg. He was in charge of physical observations on the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899...
(1871 - 1958), scientist and Arctic explorer, worked at the Royal Observatory of Belgium from 1903 to 1909 - ArnoArno HintjensArno Hintjens , usually referred to as Arno, is a Belgian artist born in Ostend. He was the frontman of the group TC Matic. After the band split in 1986 he went solo....
(born 1949), rock artist from Ostend, lived a while in Brussels - Benno Barnard (born 1954), Dutch writer
- Maurice BéjartMaurice BéjartMaurice Béjart was a French born, Swiss choreographer who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He was the son of the French philosopher Gaston Berger.- Biography :...
(born 1927), French choreographer. He founded the Ballet du XXe Siècle in 1960 and the Mudra School in 1970, both in Brussels. - Jules BordetJules BordetJules Jean Baptiste Vincent Bordet was a Belgian immunologist and microbiologist. The bacterial genus Bordetella is named after him.-Biography:Bordet was born at Soignies, Belgium...
(1870–1961), immunologist and microbiologist. Founded the Pasteur Institute in Brussels. Winner of the 1919 Nobel Prize in Medicine. - Jeroen BrouwersJeroen BrouwersJeroen Godfried Marie Brouwers is a Dutch journalist and writer. From 1964 to 1976 Brouwers worked as an editor at Manteau publishers in Brussels...
(born 1940), Dutch author. Lived from 1964 till 1976 in Brussels. - Pieter Brueghel the ElderPieter Brueghel the ElderPieter Bruegel the Elder was a Flemish renaissance painter and printmaker known for his landscapes and peasant scenes . He is sometimes referred to as the "Peasant Bruegel" to distinguish him from other members of the Brueghel dynasty, but he is also the one generally meant when the context does...
(c. 1525–1569), painter - Jan BucquoyJan BucquoyJan Bucquoy is an anarchist and author-filmmaker born in Harelbeke, Belgium who started as a theatre practitioner and who worked as a cartoon-scriptwriter.-Career:...
(born 1945), filmmaker and director - Hendrik ConscienceHendrik ConscienceHenri "Hendrik" Conscience was a Belgian writer. He was a pioneer in writing in Dutch after the secession from the Netherlands in 1830 left Belgium a mostly French speaking country....
(1812–1883), writer - Jan Decorte (born 1950), dramatist
- Anne Teresa de KeersmaekerAnne Teresa De KeersmaekerAnne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker is one of the most prominent choreographers in contemporary dance...
(born 1960), choreographer. She founded the dance company Rosas in 1983 and the dance school P.A.R.T.S. in 1995 in Brussels. - Marc DiddenMarc DiddenMarc Didden is a Belgian film director. He and his family moved to Brussels when he was age two, where he had lived for most of his own life...
(born 1949) film director, made Brussels By Night (1983) - Desiderius ErasmusDesiderius ErasmusDesiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
(c. 1466–1536), humanist and theologian. Lived in AnderlechtAnderlechtAnderlecht is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region.There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.-Pronunciation:* Dutch: * French:...
(Erasmus House) from 31 May till 28 October 1521. - M. C. EscherM. C. EscherMaurits Cornelis Escher , usually referred to as M. C. Escher , was a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints...
(1898-1972), Dutch graphic designer, lived in UccleUccleUccle or Ukkel is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.Uccle is known for its well-to-do areas, its green spots and its high rental rates.-History:...
from 1937 to 1971. - François-Joseph FétisFrançois-Joseph FétisFrançois-Joseph Fétis was a Belgian musicologist, composer, critic and teacher. He was one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century, and his enormous compilation of biographical data in the Biographie universelle des musiciens remains an important source of information today...
(1784–1871), musicologist, composer, critic and teacher, one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century. He became director of the conservatory of Brussels and the chapelmaster of King Leopold I. - Jan GreshoffJan GreshoffJan Greshoff was a Dutch journalist, poet, and literary critic. He was the 1967 recipient of the Constantijn Huygens Prize.-Partial list of works:...
(1888–1971), Dutch writer, lived from 1927 till 1939 in Schaerbeek on the August Reyerslaan 130. - Willem Frederik HermansWillem Frederik HermansWillem Frederik Hermans was a Dutch author. He is considered one of the three most important authors in the Netherlands in the postwar period, along with Harry Mulisch and Gerard Reve...
(1921–1995), Dutch author. - Victor HortaVictor HortaVictor, Baron Horta was a Belgian architect and designer. John Julius Norwich described him as "undoubtedly the key European Art Nouveau architect." Indeed, Horta is one of the most important names in Art Nouveau architecture; the construction of his Hôtel Tassel in Brussels in 1892-3 means that...
(1861–1947), architect, one of the most influential European Art NouveauArt NouveauArt Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
architects - Enver HoxhaEnver HoxhaEnver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
(1908-1985), Albanian dictator, worked as secretary at the Albanian consulate in Brussels from 1934 to 1936. - Nicholas LensNicholas LensNicholas Lens is a contemporary Belgian author and composer.Lens was born in Ypres near the French border in Flanders, Belgium. His godfather taught him violin when he was five. He studied trumpet and double-bass, first at local academies and then at Royal conservatories. Later on he studied viola...
, author/composer - René MagritteRené MagritteRené François Ghislain Magritte[p] was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images...
(1898–1967), surrealist artist - Ian McCullochIan McCulloch (singer)Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
(born 1959), singer of the English rock band Echo & the BunnymenEcho & the BunnymenEcho & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut... - Eddy MerckxEddy MerckxEdouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...
(born 1945), considered by many to be the greatest cyclist of all-time. Youth and adolescent years in Brussels. - Jef Mermans (1922–1996), nicknamed "The Bomber", football striker who played much of his career at R.S.C. AnderlechtR.S.C. AnderlechtRoyal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
- Eugene NidaEugene NidaEugene A. Nida was the developer of the dynamic-equivalence Bible-translation theory.- Life :Nida was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on November 11, 1914...
(1914-2011), linguist, developer of the dynamic-equivalence Bible-translation theory - Amélie NothombAmélie NothombAmélie Nothomb is a Belgian writer who writes in French.- Biography :Amélie Nothomb was born in Kobe, Japan to Belgian diplomats. She lived there until she was five years old, and then subsequently lived in China, New York, Bangladesh, Burma, Coventry and Laos...
(born 1967), novelist, writing in French - Ilya PrigogineIlya PrigogineIlya, Viscount Prigogine was a Russian-born naturalized Belgian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility.-Biography :...
(1917–2003), physicist and chemist. Studied chemistry in Brussels and was appointed in 1959 director of the International Solvay Institute in Brussels. He was awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
. - Adolphe QueteletAdolphe QueteletLambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet was a Belgian astronomer, mathematician, statistician and sociologist. He founded and directed the Brussels Observatory and was influential in introducing statistical methods to the social sciences...
(1796–1874 in Brussels), astronomer, mathematician, statistician and sociologist. He founded and directed the Brussels Observatory. Inventor of the Body mass indexBody mass indexThe body mass index , or Quetelet index, is a heuristic proxy for human body fat based on an individual's weight and height. BMI does not actually measure the percentage of body fat. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing...
. - Vini ReillyVini ReillyVincent "Vini" Gerard Reilly is an English musician and leader of the post-punk group The Durutti Column.-Biography:...
(Vincent Reilly, born 1953), rock musician, guitarist of the English band The Durutti ColumnThe Durutti ColumnThe Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England. The band is an ongoing project of guitarist Vini Reilly who is often accompanied by drummer Bruce Mitchell. Other current members are Keir Stewart and Reilly's girlfriend Poppy Morgan...
. He also performed on MorrisseyMorrisseySteven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
's first solo album in 1988. - Jan van RuysbroeckJan van Ruysbroek (architect)Jan van Ruysbroeck was a Flemish architect of the early 15th century . His best known work was the belfry of the Brussels Town Hall...
(also known as Jan van den Berghe), architect of the 15th century (dates of birth and death unknown). Amongst his work the belfry of the Hotel de VilleSeat of local governmentIn local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
of Brussels. - John of Ruysbroeck (or Jan, Jean, Johannes) (c. 1293–1381), 'mystic', priest in Brussels and Groenendaal
- Jan Zygmunt SkrzyneckiJan Zygmunt SkrzyneckiJan Zygmunt Skrzynecki was a Polish general, Commander-in-Chief of the November Uprising .He was born in Żebrak, Siedlce County in 1787. After completing his education at the Lwów University, he entered the Polish Legion formed in the Duchy of Warsaw, as a common soldier and won his lieutenancy at...
(1787-1860), Polish general, high-ranking officer of the Belgian army from 1832 to 1839. - Ernest SolvayErnest SolvayErnest Gaston Joseph Solvay was a Belgian chemist, industrialist and philanthropist.Born at Rebecq, he was prevented by acute pleurisy from going to university...
(1838–1922), chemist, industrialist and philanthropist. Founded different institutes and the Solvay Business School in Brussels. - Nicolas de StaëlNicolas de StaëlNicolas de Staël was a painter known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting...
(born Nikolai Vladimirovich Stael von Holstein, 1914-1955), Russian-French abstract painter. Lived in UccleUccleUccle or Ukkel is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.Uccle is known for its well-to-do areas, its green spots and its high rental rates.-History:...
from 1922 to the early 1930s and studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-ArtsAcadémie Royale des Beaux-ArtsThe Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels is an art school, founded in 1711.The faculty and alumni of ARBA include some of the most famous names in Belgian painting, sculpture, and architecture: James Ensor, Rene Magritte, and Paul Delvaux...
. - Olivier StrelliOlivier StrelliOlivier Strelli born Nissim Israel is a Belgian fashion designer, who put Belgium on the fashion map. His name is now synonymous with a chain of male and female clothing and accessory boutiques in Belgium, Switzerland, France and China...
(born Nissim Israël, 1946), fashion designer - Pieter Coecke van AelstPieter van AelstPieter van Aelst or Pieter Coecke van Aelst was a Flemish painter. He studied under Bernaert van Orley and later lived in Italy before entering the Antwerp Guild of painters in 1527. In 1533, he travelled to Constantinople for one year in a failed attempt to establish business connections for...
(1502–1550), painter - Roger van der WeydenRoger van der WeydenRogier van der Weyden or Rogier de le Pasture was an Early Flemish painter. His surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces and commissioned single and diptych portraits. Although his life was generally uneventful, he was highly successful and internationally famous in his...
(c. 1399–1464), painter - Emond van Dynter (c. 1370–1449), writer
- Vincent van GoghVincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
(1853-1890), Dutch painter, studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-ArtsAcadémie Royale des Beaux-ArtsThe Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels is an art school, founded in 1711.The faculty and alumni of ARBA include some of the most famous names in Belgian painting, sculpture, and architecture: James Ensor, Rene Magritte, and Paul Delvaux...
in Brussels from 1880 to 1881. - Paul Van HimstPaul Van HimstPaul van Himst is a former talented Belgian football midfielder and a football manager. Now retired, he still supports R.S.C. Anderlecht, his former team. He was nicknamed Polle Gazon due to the large number of fouls committed on him...
(born 1943), nicknamed Polle Gazon, football player, four-times winner of the Belgian Golden ShoeBelgian Golden ShoeIn association football, the Belgian Golden Shoe is an award given in Belgium at the beginning of each civil year to the best footballer of the Belgian First Division for the past year. The trophy is sponsored by the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws....
award, eight-times winner of the Belgian championshipJupiler LeagueThe Belgian Pro League is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Belgian Second Division...
with R.S.C. AnderlechtR.S.C. AnderlechtRoyal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
. - Bernaert van Orley (c. 1488–1541), Renaissance painter
- Johan VerminnenJohan VerminnenJohan Verminnen is a Flemish singer.-Discography:*2005 Hartklop*2003 Tegenlicht *2001 Swingen tot Morgenvroeg*1999 Vroeger en Later*1999 Het beste van Johan Verminnen...
(born 1951), singer-songwriter - Antoine WiertzAntoine WiertzAntoine Joseph Wiertz was a Belgian romantic painter and sculptor.-Biography:Born in Dinant from a relatively poor family, he entered the Antwerp art academy in 1820...
(1806-1865), painter and sculptor
Brussels as a safe harbor
Brussels was known to be a safe harborSafe harbor
The term safe harbor has several special usages, in an analogy with its literal meaning, that of a harbor or haven which provides safety from weather or attack.-Legal definition:...
for artists and thinkers facing political (or simply criminal) persecution. This was particularly true during the XIXth century, although it was a cause of some debate, and policies were prone to change (e.g. the case of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
, who were expulsed from the city in 1848).
- Charles BaudelaireCharles BaudelaireCharles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
(1821–1867), French poet - Louis BlancLouis BlancLouis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc was a French politician and historian. A socialist who favored reforms, he called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor....
(1811–1882), French poet, French politician and historian - Georges BoulangerGeorges BoulangerGeorges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger was a French general and reactionary politician. At the apogee of his popularity in January 1889 many republicans including Georges Clemenceau feared the threat of a coup d'état by Boulanger and the establishment of a dictatorship.- Early life and career :Born...
(1837–1891), French general and politician - Jacques Louis David (1748–1825), French painter
- Alexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
(1802–1870), French author, known for his historical novels - Friedrich EngelsFriedrich EngelsFriedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
(1820–1895), German social scientist and political philosopher, co-author of The Communist ManifestoThe Communist ManifestoThe Communist Manifesto, originally titled Manifesto of the Communist Party is a short 1848 publication written by the German Marxist political theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It has since been recognized as one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the... - Willem Frederik HermansWillem Frederik HermansWillem Frederik Hermans was a Dutch author. He is considered one of the three most important authors in the Netherlands in the postwar period, along with Harry Mulisch and Gerard Reve...
(1921–1995), Dutch writer - Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
(1802–1885), one of the most influential French writers of the 19th century. Completed Les MisérablesLes MisérablesLes Misérables , translated variously from the French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims), is an 1862 French novel by author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century...
in BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. - Joachim LelewelJoachim LelewelJoachim Lelewel was a Polish historian and politician, from a Polonized branch of a Prussian family.His grandparents were Heinrich Löllhöffel von Löwensprung and Constance Jauch , who later polonized her name to Lelewel.-Life:Born in Warsaw, Lelewel was educated at the Imperial University of...
(1786-1861), Polish historian and politician, associate of Karl MarxKarl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, lived in Brussels from 1833 to 1861 - Karl MarxKarl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
(1818–1883), German political philosopher, wrote The Communist ManifestoThe Communist ManifestoThe Communist Manifesto, originally titled Manifesto of the Communist Party is a short 1848 publication written by the German Marxist political theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It has since been recognized as one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the...
in Brussels. - MultatuliMultatuliEduard Douwes Dekker , better known by his pen name Multatuli , was a Dutch writer famous for his satirical novel, Max Havelaar , which denounced the abuses of colonialism in the Dutch East Indies .-Biography:Dekker was born in Amsterdam...
(Eduard Douwes Dekker) (1820–1887), Dutch author, wrote his masterpiece Max HavelaarMax HavelaarMax Havelaar: Or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company is a culturally and socially significant 1860 novel by Multatuli which was to play a key role in shaping and modifying Dutch colonial policy in the Dutch East Indies in the nineteenth and early twentieth century...
in 1859 in Brussels. - Cyprian NorwidCyprian NorwidCyprian Kamil Norwid, a.k.a. Cyprian Konstanty Norwid is a nationally esteemed Polish poet, dramatist, painter, and sculptor. He was born in the Masovian village of Laskowo-Głuchy near Warsaw. One of his maternal ancestors was Polish King John III Sobieski.Norwid is regarded as one of the second...
(1821-1883), Polish poet, stayed in Brussels from August 1846 to January 1847 after his expulsion from PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. - Pierre-Joseph ProudhonPierre-Joseph ProudhonPierre-Joseph Proudhon was a French politician, mutualist philosopher and socialist. He was a member of the French Parliament, and he was the first person to call himself an "anarchist". He is considered among the most influential theorists and organisers of anarchism...
(1809–1865), French philosopher, the first individual to call himself an "anarchist"AnarchismAnarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations... - Auguste RodinAuguste RodinFrançois-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
(1840–1917), French sculptor - Paul VerlainePaul VerlainePaul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry.-Early life:...
(1844–1896), French poet. Was joined briefly by the French poet Arthur RimbaudArthur RimbaudJean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...
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