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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