Portal:Belgium/Anniversaries/December

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

December 1

• 659 or 660: death of Saint Eligius, bishop of Noyon-Tournai and chief counsellor of King Dagobert I
• 1530: death of Margarete of Austria, regent of the Netherlands, at Mechelen
• 1633: death of Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, joint sovereign of the Seventeen Provinces, at Brussels
• 1865: death of Constant van Crombrugghe, canon and founder of several orders
• 1874: death of André Henri Constant van Hasselt, poet
• 1922: birth of Ernest Sterckx, cyclist, winner of the Tour of Belgium, three times winner of the Omloop Het Volk
• 1923: birth of Morris, comics artist, creator of Lucky Luke
• 1923: death of Virginie Loveling, writer
• 1954: birth of François Van Der Elst, soccer player, active with R.S.C. Anderlecht, New York Cosmos and West Ham United F.C., played 44 times for the Belgium national football team

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December 2

• 1381: death of John of Ruysbroeck, mystic
• 1594: death of Gerardus Mercator, cartographer

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December 3

• 1483: death of Matheus de Layens, architect
• 1812: birth of Hendrik Conscience, writer
• 1980: birth of Natalia Druyts, singer, the first runner-up of the first season of Idool 2003, known as Natalia

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December 4

• 771: death of Carloman, King of Austrasia
• 1860: birth of Charles de Broqueville, Prime Minister of Belgium during World War I
• 1918: first edition of De Standaard
• 1934: death of Adrien de Gerlache (pictured), leader of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897-1899, the first to spend the winter in Antarctica
• 1953: birth of Jean-Marie Pfaff, soccer player, 64 times goal keeper of the Belgium national football team, goalkeeper of Bayern Munich, one of only three Belgians listed on the FIFA 100 list by Pelé, now star of the reality soap De Pfaffs on VTM
• 1976: birth of Mbo Mpenza, soccer player with 53 appearances for the Belgium national football team
• 1999: marriage of Prince Philippe of Belgium and Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz in Brussels

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December 5

Saint Nicholas Eve

• 1355: death of John III, Duke of Brabant
• 1495: birth of Nicolas Cleynaerts, grammarian
• 1671: birth of Joseph Clemens of Bavaria, prince-bishop of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège
• 1907: death of Charles Leickert, landscape painter
• 1951: birth of Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven, artist
• 1966: death of Sylvère Maes, cyclist, winner of the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939

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December 6

Saint Nicholas Day (Dutch: Sinterklaas; French: Saint Nicolas), a day when children receive gifts (mostly toys)

• 1556: death of Pieter Coucke van Aelst (pictured), painter, teacher and father-in-law of Pieter Brueghel the Elder
• 1874: death of Egide Charles Gustave Wappers, painter
• 1919: birth of Paul de Man, literary critic, professor at Yale University
• 1922: birth of Guy Thys; soccer player and coach, coach of the Belgium national football team for 101 matches between 1976 and 1989 and again between 1900 and 1991, reaching the semi-finals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico
• 1938: birth of Patrick Bauchau, actor in e.g. 24, The Pretender, and Panic Room
• 1985: last attack by the Communist Combatant Cells or CCC, a terrorist organization, notable for mainly targeting property and trying to avoid humans
• 2004: death of Raymond Goethals, football coach, winner of the Champions League with Olympique de Marseille

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December 7

• 1562: death of Adrian Willaert, Renaissance composer
• 1963: Dominique by The Singing Nun (Jeanine Deckers) reaches number one at the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the first Belgian song to achieve this

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December 8

• 1632: death of Philippe van Lansberge, astronomer

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December 9

• 1425: foundation of the Catholic University of Leuven, the oldest still active Catholic University
• 1641: death of Anthony van Dyck, baroque painter
• 1991: birth of Prince Joachim of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este, son of Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este and Princess Astrid of Belgium

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December 10

• 1822: birth of César Franck, composer
• 1865: death of Leopold I of Belgium, first king of the independent country of Belgium
• 1944: death of Paul Otlet, creator of the Universal Decimal Classification and founding father of documentation
• 1972: birth of Brian Molko, singer with Placebo, in Brussels

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December 11

• 1582: death of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
• 1859: birth of Paul Hankar, Art Nouveau architect
• 1900: death of Edmond de Sélys Longchamps, politician and scientist
• 1942: birth of Didier Comès, comics artist
• 1976: birth of Timmy Simons, soccer player, played 47 times for the Belgium national football team as of October 2006
• 1999: death of Big Ben, world champion show jumping horse, inducted in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
• 2003: death of Ann Petersen, actress

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December 12

• 1712: birth of Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
• 1797: birth of Pierre Léonard Vander Linden, entomologist
• 1843: death of William I of the Netherlands, king of Belgium from 1815 until its independence in 1830
• 1922: birth of Christian Dotremont, painter and poet, member of COBRA
• 1951: birth of Stefaan De Clerck, politician, former chairman of the CD&V, one of the main Flemish parties

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December 13

• 1404: death of Albert I, Duke of Bavaria, Count of Hainaut
• 1814: death of Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligne, Belgian-born Austrian field marshal
• 1891: death of Jean Stas, analytical chemist, famous for more accurately establishing the atomic weight of the elements
• 1963: death of Hubert Pierlot, Prime Minister of Belgium between 1939 and 1945, for the largest part leading a government in exile during World War II
• 1973: death of Fanny Heldy, opera soprano, France's leading opear star between World War I and World War II
• 2005: birth of Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric of Belgium, the two sons of Prince Laurent of Belgium and Princess Claire

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December 14

• 1311: death of Margaret of Brabant, Queen of Germany
• 1926: death of Théo van Rysselberghe, neo-impressionist painter
• 1954: birth of Joseph Jongen, composer

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December 15

• 1531: death of Rombout II Keldermans, architect, worked a.o. on the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp and the City Hall of Ghent
• 1598: death of Philips van Marnix, lord of Sint-Aldegonde, writer and statesman
• 1610: birth of David Teniers the Younger, Baroque painter
• 1957: birth of Jan Bosschaert, comics artist
• 1960: marriage of King Baudouin of Belgium with Fabiola Fernanda María de las Victorias Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón
• 1995: The European Communities Court of Justice passes the "Bosman ruling", name after soccer player Jean-Marc Bosman

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December 16

• 714: death of Pippin of Herstal, Duke of the Franks, father of Charles Martel
• 1744: death of Maria Anna of Habsburg, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
• 1790: birth of Leopold I of Belgium, the first king of the independent Belgium, as Prince Leopold George Christian Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
• 1876: birth of Rodolphe Seeldrayers, athlete, president of the FIFA from 1954 to 1955
• 1944: start of the Battle of the Bulge
• 1955: birth of Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, the husband of Princess Astrid of Belgium

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December 17

• 693: death of Begga, saint, daughter of Pippin of Landen and mother of Pippin of Herstal
• 1195: death of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
• 1554: birth of Ernest of Bavaria, prince-bishop of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège
• 1909: death of King Leopold II of Belgium
• 1919: foundation of Girl Guides of Belgium
• 1937: birth of Franz De Mulder, cyclist, winner of the 1960 Vuelta a España
• 1944: the Malmedy massacre: German Waffen-SS troops allegedly kill more than 70 American prisoners of war
• 1987; death of Marguerite Yourcenar, author

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December 18

• 1385: signing of the Peace of Tournai between Ghent and Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (pictured)
• 1839: birth of Adolf Daens, priest, one of the originators of Christian Socialism in Flanders
• 1978: birth of Xandee, singer

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December 19

• 1944: US troops recapture Stavelot during the Battle of the Bulge

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December 20

• 1539: death of Johannes Lupi, composer
• 1884: birth of Jean-Baptiste Sipido, who attempted to assassinate Edward VII, the Prince of Wales, in 1900
• 1925: birth of Bob de Moor, comics artist, main collaborator of Hergé on The Adventures of Tintin from 1950 on
• 1933: birth of Rik Van Looy, cyclist, twice winner of the World Cycling Championship

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December 21

• 1943: birth of Aimé Anthuenis, soccer coach, won three Belgian soccer titles in a row between 1999 and 2001, was the coach of the Belgium national football team between 2002 and 2006
• 1983: death of Paul de Man, literary critic, Sterling Professor of the Humanities at Yale University

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December 22

• 1616: death of Jacob Le Maire, born in Antwerp, mariner who circumnavigated the Earth in 1615-1616
• 1660: death of André Tacquet, mathematician
• 1944 - German troops demand the surrender of United States troops at Bastogne, see Battle of the Bulge

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December 23

• 679: death of Dagobert II, King of Austrasia
• 1862: birth of Henri Pirenne (pictured), historian
• 1883: birth of Hubert Pierlot, Prime Minister of Belgium between 1939 and 1945, for the largest part leading a government in exile during World War II
• 1910: foundation of Boy Scouts of Belgium

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December 24

Christmas Eve

• 1069: death of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine and margrave of Antwerp
• 1257: death of John I of Avesnes, Count of Hainaut
• 1281: death of Henry V of Luxembourg, Count of Namur
• 1785: birth of Etienne Constantin, Baron de Gerlache, historian and politician
• 1814: signing of the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war between the United States and the United Kingdom
• 1908: death of François-Auguste Gevaert, composer
• 1992: death of Peyo (Pierre Culliford), creator of The Smurfs and Johan and Peewit

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December 25

Christmas Day is celebrated

• 800: coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor
• 1875: birth of Pierre de Caters; first Belgian to fly an aircraft
• 1898: death of Georges Rodenbach, Symbolic poet and novelist, author of Bruges-la-Morte
• 1978: death of Raymond Braine, soccer player, the first Belgian professional player from 1930 on, when he played for Sparta Prague; he played 54 times for the Belgium national football team

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December 26

• 1839: birth of Charles John Seghers, archbishop of Portland, founder of the Alaska missions
• 1944: turning point in the Battle of the Bulge when U.S. troops repulse German forces at Bastogne

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December 27

• 1896: birth of Maurice De Waele, cyclist, winner of the Tour de France in 1929
• 1937: birth of Jean Nicolay, soccer player, was 39 times the goalkeeper of the Belgium national football team
• 1958: birth of Carl De Keyzer, photographer, full member of Magnum Photos
• 1979: birth of Ann Van Elsen, Miss Belgium in 2002

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December 28

• 1522: birth of Margaret of Parma, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands

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December 29

• 1976: death 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

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December 30

• 1644: death of Jan Baptist van Helmont, chemist
• 1883: birth of Marie Gevers, novelist
• 1922: birth of Marc Sleen, comics author of Nero
• 1980: birth of Didier Ilunga Mbenga, NBA basketball player with the Dallas Mavericks

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December 31

New Years' Eve is celebrated

• 1483: death of Gilles Joye, Renaissance composer
• 1514: birth of Vesalius, anatomist
• 1912: birth of Gilbert Stork, organic chemist
• 1945: birth of Diane von Fürstenberg, fashion designer

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