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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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February 9

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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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February 29

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

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