Despite its small size, Belgium has produced quite a few people of international importance. I went on a search for famous Belgians and was amazed by how many I found. Too many to include them all in one post, actually, so I had to be selective.
I decided to only include real people (no movie or strip characters) who accomplished something extraordinary (getting in the “Guinness Book of World Records” is extraordinary, being a prime minister isn't) that is also known abroad or has had international importance.
That means I only included famous people from Belgium who are internationally known, either because of who they are or for what they did.
I also tried to stick to famous people in Belgium who are or were actually Belgians – meaning they were born when Belgium was already a country and not before 1830. However, I did make a few exceptions for people born in what is now Belgium as there were just too many fabulous ones that I couldn't not include.
Lastly, I didn't include that many sportsmen or famous Belgian musicians because I simply didn't see where to draw the line with them. Honestly, there are a lot! :-) So sorry, your favorite Belgian tennis player or baroque painter won't be here.
So yes, I've surely missed some people. If you know a famous Belgian who you think should definitely be on this list, feel free to let me know in the comments and I'll see what I can do :-)
Famous Belgians
Famous Belgian scientists and inventors
1. John Joseph Merlin from Huy developed the first roller skate and brought it to a masquerade in the Carlisle House in London in the 1760s.
2. In 1987 (the year I was born!) the Belgian Rudy Beckers invented parking sensors, now used in cars all over the world. He requested a patent and was officially recognized as the inventor of the parking sensor in 1988. After that, he annually had to pay 1,000 Belgian frank to keep the patent, but at a certain moment forgot to do so. This caused the patent to be released. Rudy didn't make any money from his invention, but it will forever hold his name.
3. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. Adolphe Sax was a Belgian born in Dinant. According to an article about Adolphe Sax in Time Magazine, his saxophone didn't become famous until after his death.
4. Robert Caillau is a Belgian informatics engineer and computer scientist. Oh, and he helped Tim Berners-Lee develop the World Wide Web.
5. The Belgian doctor Constant Loiseau invented the optometer, an instrument that measures the refraction of light by the eye. It was first used by military doctors to test whether a man's eyesight was good enough to serve in the military or not. It became widely used after and led to the rise of optometrists.
6. The Belgian mathematician Lambert Adolphe Quetelet invented the Body Mass Index (Curse him ;-)). CLICK TO TWEET THIS
7. Ferdinand Peeters was a Belgian gynecologist and the inventor of the contraception pill with the right dose.
8. Andreas Vesalius, also known as the founder of modern human anatomy, was born in Brussels.
9. The Belgian immunologist and bacteriologist Jules Bordet developed the first vaccine against whooping cough. Jules Bordet also won the Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1919.
10. Many people claim that in 1672, the Flemish Jesuit missionary Ferdinand Verbiest made the first automobile ever. It was a small model that ran on steam and was made for the Chinese Emperor.
11. Also on the list of famous Belgians is the Belgian physicist Ingrid Daubechies. She developed the mathematical model used by the FBI to stock fingerprints.
12. The Belgian electrical engineer and inventor Charles Van Depoele invented the electric railway. His first railway was laid in Chicago in 1883.
13. Étienne Lenoir, a Belgian engineer, developed the first successful internal combustion engine.
14. The Belgian Baron Peter Piot co-discovered the Ebola virus in 1976.
15. The word “gas” was proposed by Flemish chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont as a phonetic spelling of his Dutch pronunciation of the Greek word “chaos”. The same chemist proved that plants feed mostly on water and not on soil.
16. What's now known as “The Big Bang Theory of Physics” was presented for the first time in 1927 by a Belgian priest and scientist called Georges Lemaître. CLICK TO TWEET THIS
17. The Belgian chemist and industrialist Ernest Solvay is the inventor of the Solvay process, a process for manufacturing soda ash from brine and limestone. There are still around 70 factories practicing the Solvay process around the world today.
18. Bakelite, a popular plastic, is named after its Belgian inventor, the chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland. He also invented Velox photographic paper.
19. The Belgian reverend Julius Aloysius Nieuwland is famous for creating synthetic rubber. His invention led to the creation of neoprene by Dupont.
20. You know the famous geographical Mercator maps? They're named after the Flemish cartographer, mathematician, and geographer Gerardus Mercator.
21. The Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau invented the stroboscope.
22. In 1870, the Belgian Edward De Smedt invented concrete asphalt, used for roads.
23. The Belgian biochemist Albert Claude developed the technique of cell fractionation. He was also the first to employ an electron microscope in the field of biology and the first to publish a detailed structure of a cell. Claude won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1974, together with the Belgian Christian de Duve and the Romanian-American George Emil Palade.
25. The Belgian Adrien de Gerlache was the commander of the first scientific expedition to Antarctica — a two-year expedition from 1897 to 1899.
Famous Belgians who held a special record
24. The Belgian engineer Camille Jenatzy was the first driver to reach the speed of 100 km/h. He did so in 1899 behind the wheel of his electric car La Jamais Contente, which means “She who's never pleased”.
25. The Belgian Walter Artefeuille made it into the “Guinness Book of World Records” for lifting 281.5 kg 17 cm high above the ground… with his teeth. This was in 1990.
26. However, it's the Belgian John Massis (real name Wilfried Morbée) who is known as the man with the strongest teeth in the world. He performed all kinds of stunts bending iron with his teeth and stopping moving vehicles. He managed to get several entries in the “Guinness Book of World Records”.
Famous Belgian artists
27. The Belgian Pierre Culliford, also known by his artist name Peyo, was the creator of “The Smurfs”.
28. The Belgian Hergé, whose real name was Georges Remi, created the comic journalist Tintin. There's a museum dedicated to Georges Remi and his work.
29. The painter Peter Paul Rubens was one of the finest representatives of the Flemish Baroque style of the 17th century and remains one of the most famous Belgian painters.
30. Architect Victor Horta was the main founder of the Art Nouveau style popular between the 1890s and the 1910s. Outside of Belgium, you can still see the influence this movement had on the art and architecture of cities like Paris, Barcelona, Turin, and Helsinki.
31. Surrealist painter René Magritte was Belgian.
Famous Belgian singers and musicians
32. Singer Jacques Brel? He was Belgian and probably one of the internationally best-known Belgian celebrities.
33. Another famous Belgian artist is jazz musician Jean-Baptiste “Django” Reinhardt. He invented the technique for playing guitar with two fingers after an accident in 1928 left him with burns and limited use of the fingers in his left hand.
34. Jazz fans will surely know Jean “Toots” Thielemans, arguably the world's most famous harmonica player… and a Belgian.
35. Punk rock singer Plastic Bertrand, known from the hit “Ca plane pour moi”, was born as Roger Jouret in Brussels, Belgium in 1958. “Ca plane pour moi” was the third ever French language song to make it to the Billboard Top 100 in the US. Jouret now has his own art gallery.
36. The Belgian Sandra Kim was the youngest singer ever to win the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986. She was only 13! It made her one of the best-known Belgian female singers for a while – definitely in Europe.
37. The song “Dominique” by the Belgian Singing Nun was the first French-language song to enter the Billboard Top 100 in 1963-1964; “Je t'aime… moi non plus” by the French Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin was the other one.
38. The song “Pump up the Jam” was written by the Belgian band Technotronic.
Famous Belgian actors
39. Johnny Galecki, most known for the role of Leonard Hofstadter in “The Big Bang Theory”, was born in Bree, Belgium, but raised in the States. His father was in the US army.
40. Actress Audrey Hepburn was born in Brussels in 1929. Her father was a British banker, and her mother a Dutch baroness.
50. One of the best-known celebrities from Belgium is probably Jean-Claude van Damme, “The Muscles from Brussels”.
Famous Belgian sportsmen
Alright, I said I wouldn't add famous Belgians who are sportsmen or women but here are two :-)
51. The Belgian Stefan Everts is the only motocross racer with 10 World Championship titles from 1991 to 2006.
52. The Belgian referee John Langenus was the referee that had the honor to guide the first World Cup final in 1930.
Other famous Belgians
53. The Bank of England was founded by John Houblon, a Walloon protestant who fled Belgium for religious persecution. His face is on the £50 notes.
54. New York City was founded by the Belgian Pierre Minuit. He bought the island of Manhattan in 1626 from its original inhabitants. Okay, technically he was born in what's now Germany, but he did have a Walloon father and I think I can be very flexible on this one ;-)
55. Although it is now based in Paris, Club Med was started in 1950 by the Belgian Gérard Blit.
56. Sir Eugene Goossens, a conductor of Belgian origin, gave the idea for the construction of the opera house in Sydney.
57. On February 24, 1500, Keizer Karel/Charles V was born in Hof ter Walle in Ghent.
58. The last Empress of Mexico was Charlotte of Belgium, daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium, himself the uncle of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
58. The name of the “Euro” was proposed by a Belgian in 1992 and the Euro sign (€) was designed by a Belgian.
59. The Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne was the first European to command the International Space Station.
60. And the last one on our list of famous people from Belgium: the v-sign was invented by the Belgian politician Victor de Laveleye. In 1941, during World War II, he asked the Belgians to choose the V as a rallying sign. V is the first letter of the words victoire and vrijheid, “freedom” in French and Dutch. It was taken over all over Europe and became the sign of victory and freedom.
So, what do you think of this list of famous Belgians? Did you know many of these famous people of Belgium? Do you know any other famous people born in Belgium that are or should be known abroad? Let me know in the comments!
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Gi says
Leuke lijst!
Zenobe Gramme, is de uitvinder van de dynamo.
Sofie says
Dat ik die vergeten ben! Dankjewel voor de bijdrage Gi :-)
Naomi in Wonderland says
Wat een super leuk artikel! Heel veel leuke weetjes die ik als Belg totaal niet wist. Enkel bij puntje 54 had ik een kleine “opmerking”, want als ik me niet vergis was hij niet Belgisch maar geboren te Duitsland (best moeilijk om het zo te zien omdat de grenzen toen anders lagen enzovoort). Nu in hoeverre dit klopt weet ik ook niet maar zo had ik het toch gelezen. Oh en we kunnen Stromae ook toevoegen aan de bekende Belgische zangers lijst, hij doet het nu zo goed in Amerika en ver daar buiten, echt knap!
Sofie says
Dankjewel! Je hebt gelijk over puntje 54, maar zijn vader was een Waal en dat vond ik te mooi om te laten liggen:D In de Nederlandse versie van de post ben ik er wel wat verder op in gegaan, maar misschien moet ik het hier ook maar toevoegen.
Ik ben een grote fan van Stromae. Vorige zomer zag ik hem optreden op Les Ardentes. Geweldig was dat!
Kerry says
Hi Sofie. The most famous cyclist ever, Eddy Merckx. Also two famous female Belgian tennis players, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. I’m from the UK and there are many famous footballers playing in the Premier Lesgue….Eden Hazard is probably the best known. He was player of the year here two years ago. All the best.
Sofie says
Yes! But if I have to start listing all sports people… :D
Caroline says
Hey Sofie,
Ik heb nog enkele namen als eventuele aanvulling voor jouw lijst :-)
Pater Damiaan en Paul-Henri Spaak (één van de “Founding fathers” van de Europese Unie)
En de bands Front242 en The Neon Judgement die in de jaren 80 hun internationale stempel hebben gedrukt op het muziekgenre EBM.
Sofie says
Dankjewel!
Rudy says
Clovis (eerste koning van frankrijk, liet de Salische wet neerpennen, en bekeerde tot christendom. Geboren in Doornik)
Karel de Grote (geboren ergens tussen Luik en Aken, maar de familie was van de buurt van Luik. Ook zijn voorvaderen (Pepijn de Korte (eerste Karolingische koning), Karel Martel (Stuurde de Moren Frankrijk uit) en Pepijn van Herstal zijn heel belangrijk in de Europese geschiedenis)
Simon Stevin (Brugge) vond o.a. de vector uit, en toepassingen daarop, vooral voor Willem van Oranje. Toepassingen door hemzelf van de vector: enorme verbetering windmolens, zeilwagens (zo voor op’t strand) en berekening van de baan van kanonskogels)
Ambiorix zal er ook wel bij mogen, zeker.
Boudewijn van Vlaanderen en Godfried van Bouillon
Ferdinand Verbiest staat erbij, maar die heeft ook nog even de Chinese astrologie wat aangepast. Zijn observatorium met instrumenten staat nog gewoon in’t centrum van Peking.
Rubens, de Breughel-familie, van Dijck, Jordaens, … en de gebroeders Van Eyck (uitvinders van de olieverf) kunnen ook wel in een rijtje van bekende Belgen.
Charles de Coster is waarschijnlijk de bekendste schrijver, samen met euh, die van Maigret (nu serie op tv) en Maeterlinck (nobelprijs)
En verder nog een paar chocolatiers
Sofie says
Dankje voor je bijdrage!
Robert Bracegirdle says
Walschaerts for valve gear. Belpaire for fireboxes.
Sofie says
Thanks for the contribution!
Kristel says
Belgische kunstenaar Paul van Hoeydonck creëerde het enige kunstwerk in de ruimte; Zijn beeldje ‘Fallen Astronaut’, ligt op de maan. De “Fallen Astronaut” is op de maan gekomen doordat de bemanning van de Amerikaanse Apollo 15-ruimtemissie een persoonlijk gebaar wilde maken ter ere van de Amerikaanse astronauten en Sovjet-kosmonauten die hun leven gegeven hadden voor de ontwikkeling van de verkenning van de ruimte.
Sofie says
Hey Kristel,
Dankje voor je comment. Ik had dit al gepubliceerd in mijn post met weetjes voer België :-)
Michael says
Two remarks:
1) General: Who of those people are really famous in a strict sense, if even Belgians don’t know them?
2) Calling Audrey Hepburn a Belgian actor is very close to fake news. Being born in Belgium doesn’t make you a Belgian.
Sofie says
Thanks for remarks :)
Peter Hopkins says
I doubt whether Adolphe Sax was born in 1940 as stated, because the saxophone was being used in jazz long before that. I think it was originally devised for military bands.
Your list of top Belgian sportsmen has a serious omission: Eddy Mercx , many times winner of the Tour de France – and a great hero in the cycling world.
Sofie says
Hey Peter,
Thanks for commenting. That part about Adolphe Sax is indeed unclear. The sax was invented in the 1840s and that’s what it was supposed to say. Thanks for catching that!
I’ve consciously kept the list of Belgian sportsmen short and thus incomplete as there are just so many they would overtake this article in no time.
Judith says
Georges Simenon, writer
Sofie says
Yes!
Errol says
Eddy Merckx and Georges Simenon are more famous than most people on your list.
Sofie says
Thanks for the contribution!
Robert J Ferretti says
I have a oill painting from 1928 by KOLIA BALKONF, IS IT A RELATIVE OF YOURS OR DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING B\bout him
Sofie says
I’m afraid I don’t know who that is.
JC DAVIN says
Bonjour Sophie,
Vous avez omis Zénobe GRAMME (né à Jehay-Bodegnée entre Huy et Liège), inventeur de la dynamo industrielle et réclamé par les Français car il est né à l’époque de la domination française ainsi que Rennequin SUALEM inventeur de la “Machine de Marly” qui alimentait les fontaines du Château de Versailles et dont le prototype est toujours en service au château de Modave près de Huy.
Cela dit, félicitations pour cette compilation
Sofie says
Merci!
JAN ADRIAENSEN says
A lot of names are missing….
Paul Delvaux
Hergé
Sofie says
Hey Jan,
Thanks for commenting!
This list will, of course, never be complete, so I appreciate anyone who’s adding names to it :)
I might update it in the future.
By the way, I do have an article about Hergé and the Hergé museum here.
Michel says
Hey Ga je de lijst aanvullen met al de opgegeven toevoegingen in de commentaren? Zou je moeten doen, vind ik. Betreft Het lied Dominique van de franstalige non in 1963, haar naam is Soeur Sourire en ze stond zelfs op nummer 1 gedurende een paar weken in Amerika. Zou je ook moeten vermelden, zeker dat ze op 1 stond!
Sofie says
Hey Michel,
Op een bepaald moment waarschijnlijk wel maar dit is momenteel geen prioriteit. Genoeg ander werk :-)
Plus, de mensen kunnen alle toevoegingen ook in de comments lezen :-)
Victor Gorys says
You missed Belgium’s greatest singer of the 90s, 2000s, 2010s, Lara Fabian.
Sofie says
Thanks for adding her :)
cha says
Bonjour,
George Nagelmackers, compagnie des wagons-lits et créateur de l’orient Express :)
cha says
I don’t know if for you it goes with the list of famous belgians, a train?
Paul Maesschalck says
George Nagelmackers was an engineer who was responsible for the design, planning and execution of the Orient Express.
Sofie says
Thanks for the addition!
Leo McNeir says
Perhaps you could add Dirk Bogarde (Dirk van Boegaarde) who was born in London, but whose father was a critic for The Times newspaper. Also racing driver Jacky Ickx who was brilliant.
Sofie says
Thanks for the additions!
James Buschman says
Father Damien of Molokai, Belgian priest who ministered to lepers until the disease killed him, awarded sainthood by the Catholic Church.