Portal:Belgium/Anniversaries/February

These are the selected anniversaries for February that appear on the Belgium portal. The "edit" links edit the portal subpages that are displayed as sections here.

February 1

• 1248: death of Henry II, Duke of Brabant
• 1801: birth of Jean Théodore Lacordaire, entomologist
• 1864: the Belgian Red Cross is founded
• 1947: birth of Gaston Rahier, motocross racer, three-time world champion and two-time winner of the Paris Dakar Rally
• 1972: birth of Johan Walem, former football midfielder

Edit February 1 anniversaries • February 1 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 2

• 1973: death of Hendrik Elias, politician
• 1983: Godfried Danneels, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, receives the title of Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church

Edit February 2 anniversaries • February 2 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 3

• 1399: death of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (pictured), born in Ghent, ancestor of the English kings of the house of Lancaster
• 1796: birth of Jean Baptiste Madou, painter and lithographer
• 1920: birth of Stan Ockers, cyclist, runner-up in the Tour de France in 1950 and 1952
• 1941: birth of Antoine Duquesne, politician, former chairman of the MR and minister in the Belgian federal government
• 1958: The Treaty establishing the Benelux Economic Union is signed at The Hague
• 1975: death of Ernest Sterckx, cyclist, winner of the Tour of Belgium, three times winner of the Omloop Het Volk
• 1993: death of Karel Goeyvaerts, composer

Edit February 3 anniversaries • February 3 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 4

• 1168: death of Thierry, Count of Flanders (also known as Diederik Van den Elzas)
• 1894: death of Adolphe Sax, inventor, creator of the saxophone
• 1921: death of Xavier Mellery, Symbolist painter
• 1926: birth of Albert Frère, allegedly the richest man in Belgium
• 1957: birth of Walter Van Beirendonck, fashion designer
• 1981: birth of Johan Vansummeren, cyclist, winner of the Omloop Het Volk and Luik–Bastenaken–Luik
• 1994: death of Fred De Bruyne, cyclist and sports commentator, winner of Paris–Roubaix

Edit February 4 anniversaries • February 4 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 5

• 1602: birth of Franciscus van den Enden, teacher of Baruch de Spinoza and an early promotor of democracy
• 1885: King Léopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal possession.
• 1937: birth of Gaston Roelants, winner of the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo on the 3,000 m steeplechase in a new world record
• 1940: birth of Panamarenko, artist
• 1985: birth of Tatiana Silva, Miss Belgium 2005
• 1995: the draft is abolished in Belgium
• 2000: death of George Koltanowski, holder of the world record for most simultaneous blindfolded chess games

Edit February 5 anniversaries • February 5 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 6

• 1497: death of Johannes Ockeghem, leading composer of the Franco-Flemish School
• 1862: death of Louis-Joseph Seutin, physician, the first to use chloroform for anesthesia
• 1961: birth of Florence Aubenas, journalist with French newspaper Libération, taken hostage in Iraq in 2005
• 1984: birth of Julie Taton, Miss Belgium 2003
• 2004: birth of Princess Louise of Belgium, the first child of Prince Laurent of Belgium and Princess Claire

Edit February 6 anniversaries • February 6 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 7

• 1831: the Constitution of Belgium is approved by the National Congress
• 1844: birth of Jan De Vos, politician and Mayor of Antwerp from 1909 to 1921
• 1978: birth of Daniel Van Buyten, soccer player with Bayern Munich, played 33 times for the Belgium national football team as of October 2006

Edit February 7 anniversaries • February 7 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 8

• 1741: birth of André Ernest Modeste Grétry, composer
• 1895: death of Jean-François Portaels, orientalist painter
• 2005: death of Gaston Rahier, motocross racer, three-time world champion and two-time winner of the Paris Dakar Rally

Edit February 8 anniversaries • February 8 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 9

• 1904: birth of Karel Bossart, rocket designer, creator of the Atlas ICBM
• 1957: birth of Jaco Van Dormael, film director and screenwriter

Edit February 9 anniversaries • February 9 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 10

• 1477: signing of the "Great Privilege" between Mary of Burgundy (pictured) and the cities of Flanders
• 1822: death of Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
• 1848: birth of Anna Boch, neo-impressionist painter
• 1900: death of Paul Jean Clays, painter
• 1910: birth of Georges Pire, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1958
• 1915: death of Albert Thys, businessman in Congo Free State
• 2003: France and Belgium break the NATO procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq.

Edit February 10 anniversaries • February 10 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 11

• 1685: death of David Teniers III, painter
• 1887: death of François Laurent, historian and jurist
• 1962: birth of Eric Vanderaerden, cyclist, winner of the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix

Edit February 11 anniversaries • February 11 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 12

• 1595: death of Archduke Ernest of Austria, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
• 1612: death of Jodocus Hondius, artist and cartographer
• 1893: birth of Marcel Minnaert, astronomer
• 1946: birth of Ever Meulen, illustrator for HUMO
• 1970: death of André Souris, surrealist composer

Edit February 12 anniversaries • February 12 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 13

• 721: death of Chilperic II, King of the Franks, last powerful Merovingian ruler
• 1457: birth of Mary of Burgundy, last ruler from the Duchy of Burgundy
• 1892: death of Joseph Massart, violinist
• 1903: birth of Georges Simenon, prolific writer, creator of Maigret, winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award
• 1947: birth of Julien Cools, soccer player, played 35 times for the Belgium national football team
• 1952: birth of Freddy Maertens, cyclist, twice World Champion and winner of the 1977 Vuelta a España

Edit February 13 anniversaries • February 13 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 14

Saint Valentine's Day is celebrated

• 1894: death of Eugène Charles Catalan (pictured), mathematician, stated Catalan's conjecture
• 1946: birth of Jan Decleir, actor
• 1950: birth of Raymond van het Groenewoud, singer
• 1952: death of Maurice De Waele, cyclist, winner of the 1929 Tour de France
• 1955: birth of Ronald Desruelles, athlete, 1986 European Indoor Champion over 60 metres

Edit February 14 anniversaries • February 14 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 15

• 1370: death of Jean Le Bel, chronicler
• 1775: death of Peter Dens, Roman Catholic theologian
• 1809: birth of André Dumont, geologist
• 1847: death of Germinal Pierre Dandelin, French-Dutch-Belgian mathematician and engineer
• 1849: death of Pierre François Verhulst, mathematician
• 1913: birth of Willy Vandersteen, comics artist, best known for Spike and Suzy and De Rode Ridder
• 1961: crash of Sabena Flight 548, killing all 72 persons on board and one on the ground
• 1968: birth of Axelle Red, singer
• 1978: birth of Tia Hellebaut, European high jump champion in 2006
• 2002: foundation of SN Brussels Airlines, successor of DAT

Edit February 15 anniversaries • February 15 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 16

• 1783: birth of Jean Baptiste Julien d'Omalius d'Halloy, geologist
• 1829: death of François Joseph Gossec
• 1922: birth of Jef Mermans, soccer player, seven times champion with R.S.C. Anderlecht, played 56 matches for the Belgium national football team, scoring 27 goals
• 1944: birth of Sigiswald Kuijken, violinist and conductor
• 1961: birth of Joëlle Milquet, politician, as of 2006 president of the CDH

Edit February 16 anniversaries • February 16 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 17

• 1612: death of Ernest of Bavaria, prince-bishop of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège
• 1820: birth of Henri Vieuxtemps, violinist, teacher of Eugène Ysaÿe
• 1874: death of Adolphe Quetelet, fuonder of modern statistics
• 1934: death of Albert I (pictured), third King of the Belgians, after a climbing accident

Edit February 17 anniversaries • February 17 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 18

• 1689: death of Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
• 1815: birth of Jan August Hendrik Leys, painter
• 1906: birth of Placide Tempels, missionary, author of Bantu Philosophy
• 1943: birth of Wilfried Puis, soccer player, selected 49 times for the Belgium national football team
• 1967: birth of Harry Van Barneveld, judoka, winner of the bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta
• 1974: death of Bernard Voorhoof, soccer player, record goal scorer for the Belgium national football team with 30 goals in 61 appearances
• 1992: death of Sylvain Julien Victor Arend, astronomer, discovered a number of comets and asteroids

Edit February 18 anniversaries • February 18 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 19

• 1526: birth of Charles de l'Écluse (pictured), known as Clusius, early botanist
• 1966: birth of Enzo Scifo, soccer player, ranked fourth on the list of players with the most caps for the Belgium national football team with 84 matches
• 1981: birth of Thomas Buffel, soccer player with Rangers F.C. of Glasgow, and with the Belgium national football team

Edit February 19 anniversaries • February 19 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 20

• 1790: death of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
• 1802: birth of Charles de Bériot, violinist
• 1944: a military rebellion breaks out against Belgian rule in the Belgian Congo
• 1980: birth of Mesut Sen, detained in Guantanamo on suspicion of links to terrorist groups
• 1987: death of Edgar Pierre Jacobs, comics artist, best known for Blake and Mortimer

Edit February 20 anniversaries • February 20 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 21

• 1944: birth of Herman de Coninck, poet and literary critic
• 1946: World War II collaborator José Streel is executed by firing squad
• 1947: birth of Hugo Coveliers, politician
• 1954: birth of Ivo Van Damme, middle distance runner, double silver medalist at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, remembered in the annual Memorial Van Damme athletics meeting in Brussels
• 1957: birth of Stijn Coninx, film director, best known for Daens
• 1986: birth of Prince Amedeo of Belgium

Edit February 21 anniversaries • February 21 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 22

• 1071: death of Arnulf III, Count of Flanders and Count of Hainaut, at the Battle of Cassel
• 1796: birth of Adolphe Quetelet, fuonder of modern statistics
• 1806: birth of Antoine Wiertz, Romantic painter and sculptor
• 1821: birth of Jan van Beers, poet
• 1827: birth of Ernest Candèze, entomologist
• 1896: birth of Paul van Ostaijen, poet
• 1968: birth of Delphine Boël, artist, daughter of wedlock of King Albert II of Belgium
• 1969: birth of Marc Wilmots, soccer player and politician, played 70 times for the Belgium national football team and is ranked third on the all-time goal scorers list of the Belgian squad with 28 goals
• 1983: death of Romain Maes, cyclist, winner of the 1935 Tour de France

Edit February 22 anniversaries • February 22 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 23

• 1930: birth of Jef Geeraerts, novelist, author of The Alzheimer Case
• 1934: Leopold III becomes the fourth King of the Belgians.
• 1944: death of Leo Baekeland, chemist, inventor of Bakelite
• 1968: death of Camille Huysmans, politician, Prime Minister of Belgium between 1946 and 1947
• 1968: birth of Johan Gielen, DJ and producer
• 1969: birth of Marc Wauters, cyclist, winner of Paris–Tours
• 1974: death of George Van Biesbroeck, astronomer, discovered some comets and asteroids
• 1993: death of Robert Triffin, economist

Edit February 23 anniversaries • February 23 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 24

• 1547: birth of John of Austria, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
• 1759: birth of Jean-Jacques Dony, inventor
• 1866: birth of Hubert Van Innis, archer, winner of two golden and one silver medal at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris
• 1921: birth of Gaston Reiff, athlete, gold medalist at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London at the 5,000 m
• 1958: birth of Plastic Bertrand, musician, creator of ça plane pour moi

Edit February 24 anniversaries • February 24 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 25

• 1655: death of Daniel Heinsius, Renaissance scholar, working in Holland
• 1906: death of Jean Baptiste Abbeloos, orientalist
• 1936: death of Anna Boch, neo-impressionist painter
• 1941: birth of Nelly Maes, politician
• 1966: birth of Marc Emmers, soccer player, played 37 times for the Belgium national football team

Edit February 25 anniversaries • February 25 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 26

• 1726: death of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
• 1794: birth of B. T. de Theux de Meylandt, 2 times Prime Minister of Belgium

Edit February 26 anniversaries • February 26 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 27

• 640: death of Pippin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia and first of the Pippinids
• 1900: birth of Paul Bouts, pedagogue and phrenologist (pictured)
• 1905: birth of Charles Dekeukeleire, film director
• 1953: birth of Yolande Moreau, actress who played a minor role in Amélie
• 1981: birth of Evi Goffin, vocalist with Lasgo
• 1997: the closure of the Renault plant in Vilvoorde is announced by Louis Schweitzer

Edit February 27 anniversaries • February 27 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 28

• 1261: death of Henry III, Duke of Brabant
• 1857: death of André Dumont, geologist
• 1898: the Belgian Antarctic Expedition in the Belgica, headed by Adrien de Gerlache (pictured) gets stuck in the Antarctic ice for 13 months, and are the first to stay for the winter in Antarctica
• 1954: birth of Jean Bourgain, mathematician
• 1957: birth of Jan Ceulemans, soccer player, with 96 caps the most often selected player of the Belgium national football team
• 1961: birth of Eric Bachelart, race car driver and team owner, 1991 Indy Lights champion

Edit February 28 anniversaries • February 28 anniversaries on English Wikipedia

February 29

• 1888: birth of Fanny Heldy, opera soprano, France's leading opear star between World War I and World War II

Edit February 29 anniversaries • February 29 anniversaries on English Wikipedia